Promised Night
by Canna
Summary: [AU] Fei is betrothed to the Mountain Deity since eleven years ago on a chilly winter night. Unfortunately, no one believes him. He was called a liar and hated by the other villagers. Two days before the promised night, he meets a mysterious boy who goes by the name of "SARU". What happens when he falls in love knowing that it will never work out? SaruxFei, SaruFei [Yaoi]
1. The Mysterious Boy

_"I've already told you, there really isn't anything more I could do." The old man with greasy gray hair sighed. He glanced down at the small, green haired child._

_"B-but you're a doctor!" The child protested with tears brimming to his eyes. "Doctor saves people, right?"_

_"Your father's disease isn't something that can be cure, kid." The elderly doctor responded. "The medicine I left will lessen the pain. I must be going now."_

_"Wait! Please don't go!" The child called, but the elderly man had already stepped out of the doorway and into the chilly winter night. Swallowing back his tears, the child slowly closed the door. He made his way through the large manor as the heavy sounds of coughs reached his ears. Walking up to a pair of slide doors, he slowly opened a tiny gap, peering inside to see a green haired man lying on the bed and coughing heavily into his hand. The child's eyes widened when at one point the man suddenly spat out some blood._

_He slowly backed away, keeping his footsteps light as to not alert the adult of his presence. Once he was far enough, the boy spun around on his heel and dashed down the hallway. He ran into his room where he huddled into a corner and cried. As he furiously rubbed his chubby wet cheeks, the boy's elbow hit against the nearby table, causing a scroll to rolled off and fell on his head. Rubbing some of the tears out to clear his view, the boy glanced down at the scroll that was laid out on the tatami. It was displaying a very poor drawing of what appeared to be a forest and at the center, a small, white creature._

_A monkey._

_"The picture of the Mountain Deity-sama…" The boy sniffed as he slowly picked up the scroll._

_He remembered drawing this a few days ago so that he could give it to his father as present. In the village, there has always been a legend of the existent of the Mountain Deity. It was a story every adult would tell their children. They say that the Mountain Deity takes the form of a white monkey and protects the villagers from demons._

_"Maybe the Mountain Deity-sama can help father!" The child gasped as he quickly jumped up. Hurriedly rolling the scroll of the picture up, he tucked the scroll into the long sleeve of his orange kimono. With that, he ran outside, ignoring the cold air sinking through his flesh and into his bone. He ran all the way to the other side of the village. After climbing the extremely steep stairs, he arrived at the ground of the village's shrine._

_"H-hello!" He called out as he looked around the yard, but the only response he got was a chilling breeze. "Mountain Deity-sama?" He glanced at the monkey statues, then to the large sakura tree that stood bare from flower and leaves._

_"Mountain Deity-sama!" It was only after a few more calls did the boy finally realized that the Mountain Deity wasn't at the shrine. As he shivered in the cold, the boy took out his scroll and used the moonlight to peer down at the content. He stared at the drawing of the monkey, and then to the lush greenness that surrounds it._

_"Of course! Mountain Deity-sama lives in the mountain!" He chirped, immediately brightening up again as he ran back to the staircase. Not noticing the ice due to the darkness, he slipped, rolling down the many steps before he managed to stop himself half way. Bruises and cuts now filled his fair skin as tears began to form at his eyes. He bit his lower lip to choke back the urge to cry. Hurriedly wiping away the bit of wetness that manages to escape, the boy slowly and carefully crawled down the rest of the way._

_"M-Mountain Deity-sama!" He called as he ran as fast as his battered body could handle into the forest and away from his village._

_"Mountain Deity-sama!" He kept calling while small streams of tears leaked down his face at the feeling his bare legs sinking into the freezing snow. The coldness was literally burning his skin off and it hurts really badly. "Mountain Deity-sama!"_

_As the boy kept on calling, he didn't notice the eyes that were gathered on him. He didn't see an owl on the branch over his head, staring at him in curiosity or the snow white fox that was hiding in the snow with golden eyes gleaming in the darkness. A snake slithered out of the hole in the tree trunk, accompanied by a gray squirrel that oddly didn't fear the reptile._

_"Moun—" The boy cried out as he fell onto the snow. He shivered at the coldness before glancing back at his legs that were filled with ugly frostbites. He couldn't feel his toes anymore and no longer has the ability to walk with the condition he was in. Not knowing what to do, he kept calling until he was wailing for the Mountain Deity's appearance out of desperation._

"He's crying…"

"Should we do something?"

"A human kid…"

"He's calling for the Mountain Deity."

"It's just some stupid brat…"

"What to do?"

_Whispered too soft to be heard by human ears traveled through the forest. The eyes in the darkness simply watched as the child's began to consciousness fade together with his cries. With the cold finally seeping in, the boy's body was beginning to shut down._

"He'll die at this rate…"

"He's already half dead."

"Should we help?"

"But it's a human…"

"He's just a kid…"

_The hidden beings debated, until a firm voice that held a strange, watery echo like many people speaking at once shook the forest._

**"All of you, stand down."**

_The boy twitched when he thought he had heard something just now. His minty green eyes weakly parted and he slowly glanced up. His blurred sight could only make out a tall shadowy figure hovering over him before the last of his consciousness slipped away as he fell limp into the snow._

oOo

"I've told you many times, father!" The pale teen with spring green hair finally couldn't hold it anymore and shouted at the man sitting before him. "I won't go to any omiai*."

"And we've been through this, Fei." The man sighed. "You were just a child, it was a hallucination. It was cold and you probably—"

"Forget it," the greenette snapped as he climbed onto his feet, "you never believe anything I said."

"Fei, where are you going?" The man asked. There was a hint of concern in his eyes when he saw how his child was making his way to the door. "We're not done here yet—Fei!"

Fei dismissed the call of his father as he ran out of the house to be greeted by the warm spring air. It was only when he came into a wide, empty field where the children gathered to play did he finally stopped.

"Fei!" A familiar voice suddenly called out to him, making Fei look up to see a brunette waving at him from across the field.

"Tenma!" The greenette immediately brightened up at the sight of his friend and the large dog accompanying its owner. "Taking Sasuke out for a walk?" He asked once the boy arrived to his side.

"Yeah, you too, Fei?"

Fei blinked at his friend's strange question and Tenma simply blinked back. When the brunette pointed at his feet, Fei looked down for the first time and nearly jumped at the sight of a white fox sitting beside him.

"Shiro!" Fei gasped as he kneeled down and gathered the fox into his arms. "You followed me?"

"So it's not a walk huh?" Tenma laughed as Sasuke let out a loud bark. The large dog wagged its tail to show its excitement at the sight of its friend. Shiro however, snarled and gave out unpleasant yowls.

"Come on Shiro, don't be mean." Fei said with a light scowl. The second he set the fox down, the white creature quickly made a run for it with Sasuke sprinting to a chase.

"I guess you got into another argument with your dad?"

At the mention of his father, Fei frowned and sat down onto the soft blades of grass. "I don't know what to think anymore, Tenma."

"What do you mean?" Tenma asked as he sat down next to the greenette.

"Everything with the Mountain Deity." Fei replied. "You know…that time eleven years ago where some people found me out cold at the village gate."

"And you were clutching onto a bamboo container in your hand, right?" Tenma said. "You said the water inside was given to you by the Mountain Deity to cure your dad's illness. In return…"

_"In return, you will become my bride on your sixteenth year, under the night of the first sakura blossom."_ The deep voice echoed within Fei's mind. He remembered to how inhuman the voice sounded. It was as though there were like many voices speaking all at once in perfect sync.

He sighed at the memory.

"Yes…" He said after a while. "I don't remember much during that time…all I remembered was that the water can save my father and those words."

"You know, you could have saved some of that water. Then you'll be able to know if it's really true."

"I guess..." Fei smiled weakly. "But I accidently dropped the containers into the stove so it became nothing but ashes."

"Fei, is something wrong?" The brunette frowned when he saw the troubled look on his friend's face.

"All this time, I was pretty sure of what little I could remember…but now, I'm really starting to doubt it." Fei replied hesitantly. "No matter what people claimed that cured my father's illness, I never once listened or believed them because I knew it was the Mountain Deity that helped him. But after being told repeatedly how it was nothing but a child's imagination, I'm starting to wonder if that's really true."

The pale teen turned to his friend. "Tenma, do you think it was just a dream?"

"I wouldn't know even if you ask me…" Tenma laughed weakly before he looked up to the clear sky. "I don't know if there is really a Mountain Deity or not, but I believe in Fei. If that's what you saw, then I'm sure it is."

"That doesn't really answer my question but…thank you, Tenma." Fei smiled weakly, the burden of his question still weighted heavily in his heart.

Although Tenma was a good friend, the boy wasn't a good person to consult with as he is always positive and will never doubt with anything a friend says. "I have to get going now. I don't want to disturb yours and Sasuke's walk."

"If there's anything I can help with, let me know." Tenma said as the boys climbed onto their feet. After calling back their respective pets, the two bid their goodbyes and headed off to different directions.

Fei wandered for a long time with Shiro nested in his arms. He didn't want to go home. At least not yet after he walked out on his father like that. In the end, the teen found himself at the foot of the shrine, a place he began visiting daily after the snow has melted just to get a glimpse of the only sakura tree in the village.

When he finished the long journey up the stairs, he let go of Shiro and glanced around at the people praying at the shrine. The old priestess flashed him a smile, used to the sight of the boy's appearance. The greenette smiled back and then walked over to the large sakura tree. He looked over at one of the branches to see the maturing pink buds glistening under the sunlight.

"It will bloom in two days."

Fei froze in the middle of his admiration of the beautiful buds. He turned and realized how he was not alone. There, standing beside him was a white haired teen, his eyes covered by some kind of black mask he had never seen before…and neither of the strange clothes he wore.

"…Who are you?" Fei asked. Since the village was a small one, everyone naturally knew each other and the greenette was sure he has never met such a strange and suspicious looking person.

"Pardon my rudeness. You seemed so conflicted that I couldn't help but feel a bit curious." The white haired boy chuckled as he pulled the black mask over his head to reveal lavender eyes and a face that ominously resembles Tenma's. "My name is Saryuu Evan. I guess in your culture, it would be Evan Saryuu. I travel with my father who is a merchant. We came to this village to do some trades."

Fei couldn't help but continued to stare. Even the name of the boy was weird. Are all outside people like this?

"Is there something on my face?" The boy asked with a light smile. That successfully snapped the greenette from trance. He quickly averted his gaze and flushed in embarrassment. He immediately began muttering a string of apology until the stranger stopped him by placing a finger under his chin and tilted his head up so their eyes could meet.

"I believe I haven't got your name yet."

"Huh? O-oh…" Fei quickly pulled away, his cheeks flushing even more but this time he made sure to keep eye contact. "It's Usami Fei."

"Ah…" Saryuu hummed. "So you're the one the villagers were talking about."

"Eh?" The greenette stared at the outsider in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You don't know?" The teen kept that calming smile on his lips. "There's been quite a talk of a boy who was chosen to become the Mountain Deity's bride. The villagers are apparently making a joke out of it. I've also seen some of the parents discipline their children of lying by retelling the story. It's quite obvious that none of them believe you."

"Is…is that what they're doing?" Fei whispered, feeling a bit of pain clenching his heart. He has always knew people saw him as liar ever since he blurted out what happened when he was a child who didn't know anything…but to go that far…

"So it's true then?" Saryuu asked. It wasn't spoken in mockery or carries any sarcasm like what Fei was used to hear from other kids outside of his circle of friends. It was simply a question asked through pure curiosity with no ulterior motive behind it.

"You seemed to have heard everything already."

"Rumours are always twisted into what people want it to be. I want to hear the real and untainted story from the deity's betrothed."

"…You're a strange person." Fei couldn't help but smile. "Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to tell you much. I don't have that much of a clear memory myself and beside…it's a long and boring story."

"In that case, why don't we take a walk?" The boy offered. "You don't seem like you have much to do and neither do I. There is this beautiful lake not far outside the village. You can tell me on the way there."

Fei stared at the boy hesitantly. While he knew that he shouldn't follow strangers around, the boy didn't seem like a bad person. On the contrary, the greenette felt an odd sense of warmth…as though his instinct was telling him to put his trust into the other. He also wanted to know the boy a little more. He doesn't want to part with him. Not yet.

"I…suppose I could_—_"

"Great!" The white haired boy replied immediately, so quickly that it almost seemed like he was purposely shutting off any chance to allow the local teen to change his mind. "Let's go."

"Ah, wait." Fei quickly said as he looked around the shrine for the white animal.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Shiro_—_my pet…" Just then, the white fox popped out its head from behind the sakura tree and walked over to its owner.

"A white fox." The white haired boy observed as Fei pulled Shiro into his arms. "This is certainly unusual."

"I first met him when I was six. He saved me from the wolves that roamed around the village boarder."

"A brave little one, aren't you?" Saryuu smiled as he raised his hand. The greenette gasped. He parted his mouth to warn the other, but to his surprise the fox stretched out its neck and allowed the stranger to pet it. To further its owner's shock, Shiro even let out a pleasant whine, something that it only does if Fei was the one who pets it.

"Is something the matter?" Saryuu asked at the stunned look on the boy.

"Ah_—_no…Shiro doesn't usually like being touch by other people so I was just a little surprised." Fei said before a wide smile broke to his face. "It's rare to see him getting attached to someone. It took me weeks just to get him to warm up on me."

"Really? That's hard to tell from the way he's attached to you."

"It took a while." The green haired boy admitted. "But eventually we began to do everything together like sleeping and taking bathes."

Since the fox had its back turned, Fei couldn't see the dreaded expression a mere animal shouldn't be capable of displaying or the hand buried deep in the long white fur that twitched.

"Heh~ is that so?" A dark shadow was cast over Saryuu's face. For a moment, Fei had thought that the other boy was angry at something, but realized that it was only the angle of the sunlight that gave such illusion. "Sounds like you have quite the companion here. Do you mind if I hold him, Fei?"

The teen felt a bit uneasy at how the stranger was already addressing him by his given name when they had only met. Dismissing it as cultural difference, he held out Shiro to Saryuu, who carefully took the fluffy creature into his arms.

Catching a pair of golden eyes glistening under the sunlight, Fei looked down and froze when he saw the fox throwing him a…was that a pleading look? The greenette quickly shook his head, knowing that it couldn't be possible. When he glanced back, the fox had its head turned away once more with Saryuu scratching the small animal behind the ear. He smiled; glad that his aloof companion could finally get along with someone other than him.

If Fei had walked around, he would realize how wrong he was. What the other boy giving to his friend wasn't any simple petting. It was small, painful pinches that left the skin under the milky fur turning into a dark shade of crimson.

"Shall we go?" Saryuu asked.

With a nod, Fei followed Saryuu away from the shrine. The walk to the lake was slow, but neither of them minded as the outsider patiently listened to Fei talked of what had happened in the winter eleven years ago. By the time he had finished, they arrived at the lake where the clear water was reflecting the crimson light of the setting sun.

"So Evan-san—"

"Saru is fine. That's what everyone calls me." The boy said as he released Shiro who quickly scurried into the nearby bushes. Fei frowned at Shiro's odd behaviour, but figured the fox was probably tired of being carried and wanted to stretch its legs.

"Then…_Saru_." Fei began awkwardly. It felt strange for him to address a person he doesn't even know by nicknames. "What's the other villages you been to like? You seem to have a very different custom than ours."

"I supposed you could say that." Saryuu replied as he reached up to a tree bearing crimson fruits with golden linings that Fei had never seen before. Moreover, was there ever a fruit bearing tree here before? He has been to this lake many times with his friends and never had they encounter something like this. And with winter just recently passed, how was it that there could be berries before flower?

The pale boy could only watch with confusion written all over his face as Saryuu easily snapped the branch between his fingers and held it to him.

"Try it, it's good."

"It's edible?" Fei stared at Saryuu, then hesitatnly took the branch into his hand. Giving the other boy another look, he plucked off one of the odd fruit and pushed it through the gap of his lips. The minute he bit down, his mouth was overflowing with the sweet and refreshing juice of the fruit. His eyes lit up as he stared at the berries in wonder. The more he chewed the more juice flowed into his mouth. It seemed so unreal that such small berry can carry so much fluid inside.

"I told you its good." The white haired boy chuckled at adorable look the greenette has.

"What is this?" Fei couldn't help but wanted to know as Saryuu sat down by the tree and patted the spot beside him. The greenette hurriedly took a seat, eager to hear the answer to his question.

"These are called Lyrium berries. They only grow in untainted environment near water."

"But it's my first time seeing this." Fei said, looking up to see more of the berries dangling over his head. "Actually, I didn't even know this tree was capable of bearing fruits."

"The flower and berry season is very short in the winter so it's possible that you simply missed it." Saryuu explained so naturally that Fei couldn't help but feel that it's true. After all, he only comes to the lake during summer, so it's no surprise that he never realized.

"It's really good…do these grow a lot in your home? You seem very familiar with them."

"You could say that." Saryuu smiled as he leaned back against the tree. "So are you're alright with it?"

"With what?" Fei asked.

"This whole engagement." The white haired boy said. "You're alright with marrying a complete stranger? You don't even know how your so-called deity would treat you. It's not even a human to begin with. It's a monkey, isn't it?"

"Don't call _him_ that." Fei snapped, the softness his innocent green eyes were displaying a second ago had vanished, replaced by a tint of coldness in them. "The Mountain Deity isn't a bad, so don't insult him."

Saryuu seemed a bit surprised at how defensive the green haired boy had become. However, his shock was quickly gone as that confident smile of his was back to his lips once more as though it had never disappeared.

"You're pretty defensive of a deity you can't even remember meeting."

"I owe my father's life to the Mountain Deity." Fei replied as his climbed onto his feet. "He was the only one who helped me when everyone else in the village gave my father up, so don't talk like you know. Please excuse me." With that, the greenette walked away, leaving the white haired boy alone beneath the fruit baring tree.

"It would appear that I have just been dumped." Saryuu laughed to himself once Fei was completely out of sight.

"For someone who has just been dumped, you sure seem happy, Saru." A voice spoke from the darkness. The white haired teen looked up, not surprised when he saw a purple haired girl stepping out from behind a tree.

"Of course he is. Fei got angry for his sake after all." Spoke a gray haired boy with spectacles as he stepped up next to the girl.

"But he's sure is a weird human…" A boy stepped with his white and purple hair tied up into a ponytail spoke from up on the branch he was sitting on. "Why would he get angry for the sake of someone he doesn't even know?

"That's why I told you. Fei isn't like the other humans." The last voice spoke as golden eyes parted, illuminating from within the darkness.

"GAH!" The teen gasped in shock as he crashed down from the tree. "What happened to your face?" He cried. When the moonlight peered over the clouds, the soft ray of light embraced the last figure, revealing a white haired boy with swollen cheeks puffing out like an overly stuffed chipmunk.

"**In any case**," the last boy snapped in irritation. "Ever since winter began, Fei has begun to have doubts."

"I thought you said he's extremely loyal." The boy with glasses said.

"I only said that he's beginning to have doubt. Never that he will back from the promise."

"Indeed, that child has a strong sense of duty." Saryuu finally spoke as he climbed onto his feet. "Go back to Fei, _Shiro_. The night can hide many secrets. Make sure he returns home safely."

"Shiro?" The ponytailed boy choked out a laugh. "Don't tell me he's been calling you that kind of dog-like name for the past ten y—!" The boy wasn't able to finish for that a foot had drilled its way into his stomach. He fell onto his knees, clutching onto his gut with heavy coughs while the swollen cheeked teen simply turned and vanished into a twirl of wind.

"So what do you plan to do, Saru?" The girl asked, ignoring her pained companion. "Even if you leave it as it is, that human will eventually be yours."

"Only his shell." Saryuu replied as he gazed up at the waxing gibbous moon. "He stole my heart in a mere night. I must make sure I return that favour."

oOo

"Maybe I was a bit rude…" Fei sighed for the fifth time as he poked at his egg. He glanced to the side where lying on the tatami was the branch of the strange fruits Saryuu had given him yesterday. He frowned, feeling the remorse inside him getting worse.

"Say Shiro—" Fei cut himself off when he noticed how Shiro didn't even touch any of its own food. "…Shiro? Are you alright?"

Fei leaned down to the fox and frowned when it looked away. The greenette thought that the fox's face was a little wider than before…but it must be just his imagination. Deciding not to push the matter, Fei turned back to his own food but still couldn't find the appetite to eat.

"Excuse me, young master?" A voice called as Fei glanced up to see one of the manor's servants at his doorway. "There is a white haired young man at the door requesting to see you."

"White haired?" Fei asked quickly. "Is he umm…dressed strangely?"

"Yes." The woman nodded. "Clothes I had never seen before. Shall I tell him to return later as you are having breakfast?"

"No, it's fine, thank you." The greenette replied as he hurriedly ran out with Shiro close at his heels. When he arrived at the main door, he saw the boy the maid had spoken off, standing there casually with his arms crossed.

"Evan–san…"

"I told you to call me _Saru_ didn't I, Fei?" Saryuu greeted with that same smile.

"Why…how did you know I live here?"

"It wasn't hard. Your home is fairly easy to spot." Saryuu replied. "I want to apologize for—"

"I'm really sorry!" Fei blurted out, cutting the white haired boy off and bowed low. "I'm really sorry for my behaviour yesterday. It hasn't been the best day for me and I just took it out on you, I'm really…" The greenette trailed off when he felt a hand placed on his head and gently ruffled his hair.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing." Saryuu chuckled. He retracted his hand so Fei could straighten himself. "I tramped over your belief and that was wrong of me."

"But…I was…" Fei struggled to explain his behaviour for yesterday. When Saryuu saw that, he smiled a bit wider and gestured down the street.

"Shall we take a walk?"

In the end, the two were back at the lake, sitting side by side beneath the same place as they were last night. While Fei seemed utterly uncomfortable with the silence, Saryuu was quite at ease, nibbling one the red and gold berry.

"I'm…really sorry." The greenette said as the long silence was finally shattered.

"Rather than apologizing, why don't you talk about your problem? You'll feel better if you let it out.

Fei stared into those gentle lavender eyes before he turned back to the field and slowly pulled his legs against his chest.

"You see, I have been always sure of what I remembered…of the Mountain Deity I mean. But as time slowly passed by and constantly hearing how it was only my imagination, I'm beginning doubt myself. I had always expected to leave the village when the sakura blooms…" The greenette sighed. He paused there to gather the right words that would describe his feelings. "As the days grew shorter, I couldn't help but feel a bit numb on this whole matter. The village looks the same and the way I view my friends and father is still the same. I still argue with my father and laugh with my friends. I can't find myself to miss any of them because it doesn't feel like I will ever leave them. It's like I expected myself to continue to live here even after the sakura wither. I had always been prepared for the night I leave, but…what if the deity doesn't come? What if it was really just a dream? I had never imagined my life in the village beyond sixteen. What will I do then?"

"In other word, you are afraid of an unknown future." Saryuu said softly.

"It's stupid isn't it?" Fei mumbled and buried his face into his knees. "I know I sound really useless…I just can't help but feel a little scared. I don't want to think that everything I had believed until now was in reality just a simple dream. That's why I lashed out at you. I was tired of being constantly questioned and didn't want my doubts to deepen…"

"Something like that can never be considered as stupid." Saryuu replied. "Fear is something every human has. When your reality is threatened, it's only natural that you fear it because you don't know how it will impact your life."

When the white haired boy heard no response from the other, he turned and noticed the ways those mint green eyes were staring at him with. "Do you like my face so much?" He asked teasingly and was rewarded by a beautiful blush dusting over the porcelain smooth cheeks.

"S-sorry…it's just that you sound really mature." The greenette laughed weakly. "I wish my father could say something like that to me instead of pressuring me into seeing his point of view."

"But you love him regardless, don't you?" Saryuu chuckled and stood up. "Let's continue this discussion later. Why don't we play a game?" He suggested, and the greenette immediately perked up at that.

"Sure, what game?"

"It's call soccer." The merchant's son replied as he walked over to a tree and pulled out a strange looking black and white ball. Fei wondered why there was a ball there, but his question was shoved aside and quickly took over by curiosity. He has always like games, so when he saw the odd looking ball, he couldn't help but feel thrilled.

"This is a game we play often back in my village. The rule is simple; you must kick the ball into your opponent's goal without the use of hand."

"Goal?"

"It's the objective of the game." Saryuu said before he pointed at a space between two trees. "Kick the ball through there, and you will win the game."

"Alright…" Fei nodded, the rule was simple enough. "So no hands?"

"No hands." Saryuu nodded. "But before we begin…"

Fei watched the other walked over to him and knelt down by his side. Then without any warnings, he grabbed the greenette's kimono with his gloved hand and pulled it up to expose his slender legs that are incapable of growing any body hair as the rest of his body.

"Ah!" Fei yelped as the cool spring air brushed against his bare skin. He tugged at his kimono, trying to pull it back down but Saryuu had a firm grip on it. "Saru!"

"Relax, I'm just going to make it easier for you to play." The white haired boy replied, though he couldn't deny that he wasn't admiring the view. As he tied the kimono into a knot at the boy's hip, his royal purple eyes wandered to the tight fabric framing the perfectly round globes of flesh hanging seductively from the human's rear.

"Saru?" Fei looked down when he felt the other had stopped moving. "What's wro—HYAA!" The greenette let out a startled scream when a hand suddenly groped his rear and stroke him in a very suggestive manner.

"W-w-what are y-ou doing?" Fei shouted as he quickly pulled away from the other. His face was heating up so much that steams could be seen rolling off of his crimson cheeks.

"I noticed from the lack of outline of your kimono has that you didn't seem to be wearing anything underneath. I just wanted to confirm if my guess was right."

"O-of course t-there wouldn't be anything! This is a kimono." Fei replied as held his hands behind him. "Do you always wear other things beneath your umm…" The greenette tried to think up a term to call the white haired boy's clothing, but failed. "Well, your kimono?"

"We do." Saryuu replied casually as though he hadn't just molested the boy under board daylight. "Undergarments are a necessity from where I came from."

"Oh…" Fei looked down, feeling embarrassed at himself for making such a big deal. "Sorry about my reaction. You kind of took me off by surprise."

"I am sorry about that." Saryuu smiled apologetically. In reality though, he was nowhere near as sorry as he should be for his actions. "Let's begin the game then. You'll warm up when you start running."

And with that, the two began the game, putting the incident quickly behind them. They took turns trying to outmatch one another to take the goal. At first, Fei was extremely clumsy. He didn't know how to dribble the ball let alone trying to get pass Saryuu. Thanks to the patient teaching by the merchant's son, the he was soon darting through the opening trying to shake the other from his tail.

From up in a tall pine tree, two figures sat watching the pair below in amusement.

"I can't believe it." The purple haired girl stared at the greenette who was now chasing after the white haired boy. "Saru's laughing…"

And indeed the said boy was. He was letting out a musical laughter when the green haired boy had tripped over the wet mud and hitting the ground rather awkwardly.

"So is Fei." The puffy cheeked boy added. His golden eyes softened at how happy Fei seemed despite the fall. "It's been a long time since I've seen him smile like that."

"You seem pretty attached to him. When you were first assigned to Fei's side, you were very reluctant." The girl said, smirking at the memory of her companion's bitter expression at the time. "You two got so close that you even bathed together was it?"

The golden eyed boy immediately a scowled and looked away. "It wasn't my choice." He muttered beneath his breath.

"Loosen up. I'm not going to spread it around." The girl looked over the swollen cheeks and smiled. "You've already gotten your punishment after all."

At the word _punishment_, the white haired boy winced and instinctively brought a hand up to his injured face.

"Let's go. From the looks of things down there, you won't be needed for a while. You can come back and help with the preparations. The others are eager to see you again."

"Preparations?"

"For tomorrow night." The girl replied as her jungle green eyes watched Fei ran towards the goal with the soccer ball at his feet. "If the humans want to see a deity, then that's what we will give them."

oOo

"Ah!" Fei gasped as the ball bounced off the tree after missing the shot and landed into the water. "Sorry, I'll go get it."

"Fei—" Saryuu reached a hand to stop the boy, but Fei was already off, chasing after the ball. Smiling at the sight, Saryuu watched from the dried land as Fei carefully walked into the lake. His body was shivering as he dragged his feet across the cold water. By the time he reached the ball, the water was already at his knees.

"I got it!" He chirped, about to turn around when he lost his footing.

"Fei!" Saryuu hurried into the water just as Fei's balance was thrown off, sending out splashes of water everywhere.

"Fei, are you alight?" The white haired boy asked as he pulled up the thoroughly soaked greenette.

"Y-yeah, it's n-noth—" The boy wasn't able to finish as he was broke off with a sneeze.

"Come, let's get back onto the land." Saryuu said as he helped Fei out of the water. Due to the water that soaked his body and the chilliness in the air, Fei was trembling fairly badly. At that, Saryuu took off his orange top, leaving himself only in his black attire and held it to the greenette. "Wear this. You'll catch a cold if you keep that on."

"But what about you?"

"I'm fine." Saryuu grinned and placed his shirt by the boy's feet. "I'll go get something to start a fire. Hurry and get changed." With that said, Saryuu left, disappearing into the woods.

Once he was out of sight, Fei stared at the clothing offered to him. He was a little hesitant, but the wet coldness against his skin was becoming pretty bad. After a long debate, he finally stripped himself from his wet kimono and shivered when the chilling air caressed his skin. He quickly put on Saryuu's cloth, though was met with a bit of difficulty as he didn't know how he was supposed to wear it. After some experimenting and testing, Fei finally managed to get the clothing on. It was a perfect timing too as Saryuu had just returned with an arm full of woods.

As the near full moon took turn lighting the sky, the two sat beside the fire. Fei curled up in Saryuu's arm, still shivering with Saryuu rubbing at his bare arms and legs to warm him up. His orange kimono was hung on the other side, supported by a few branches over the warm fire.

"Bless you." Saryuu said when Fei sneezed again.

"Huh?" The greenette sniffed as he looked up at the boy.

"Bless you." Saryuu repeated to those confused green orbs. "It's a saying we have back in our village for whenever someone sneezes."

"Oh…" Fei smiled softly as he slowly pressed himself a bit closer to the other boy, enjoying the feeling of the warmth of another. "Saru…?"

"Hm?" The other teen hummed out to show that he was paying attention.

"Sorry about the trouble…and thank you for everything."

"It's no trouble at all." Saryuu chuckled. "So you enjoy soccer?"

"Yes!" The immediate reply made the teen smiled even wider. "It's the first time I had played games like that. I can't wait to introduce it to my friends."

"That's wonderful to hear." The white haired boy mumbled. His smile was slowly slipping off his lips as his eyes fell to the flickering flames. Sensing the change in the other, Fei looked up only and Saryuu's arms tightened around him, bringing them close together.

"Saru?" The greenette felt a little worried when he got no response. "Are you aright, Saru?" He reached out to the boy's face, only to have his hand seized mid-way by Saryuu's larger and warmer ones.

"Have you gotten your answers, Fei?" Saryuu asked as he turned to the boy in his arm. When he saw the confusion displayed on the greenette's face, it was obvious that the other didn't understand his question. "Your doubts on your deity, have you found your answer?"

"I…" Fei's voice trailed off as he was reminded of his troubles. He gazed up to the sky, noticing how dark it was—meaning that by the time he wakes up tomorrow, that day will finally arrive.

At the sudden realization of that, Fei felt his heart began to beat faster in panic. There was still so many time when he woke this morning. There should have been so much more time for him to think…so where did all those time went? How was it that it was already so dark when the sun had rose not long ago?

"Fei." Saryuu laced together their fingers before he leaned down, stopping until their noses were almost touching. Fei's breath hitched when he found himself staring into his own reflection within those lavender eyes that held so many emotions that it almost hurts looking in them. He parted his lips to call out the other's name, but nothing came out aside from a weak squeak.

"Fei." Another loving whisper of his name was the only warning he got before Saryuu closed the distance between them. Their lips melted together in a sweet, chaste kiss. Fei felt his chest flared, coming alive just from the simple contact. He didn't know what this feeling was, as he had never felt this way before. The heat in his chest only grew hotter and hotter, making him feel so full that his heart could burst any moment.

"S-Saru…" Fei pulled his head back and gasped for air. However, Saryuu didn't wait to hear what he has to say and dived down. He locked their lips back together with more force than before. Taking the chance while Fei's lips were parted, Saryuu slid his tongue inside the greenette's mouth.

Fei was startled by the foreign tongue's intrusion, but with some coaxing, he was soon moaning into the other's mouth. Logic has long vanished from his mind. Lost in the pleasure of feeling Saryuu's touches, the green haired boy shyly began to return the kiss. His response only fuelled Saryuu's confidence, allowing the boy to become bolder as he lowered Fei onto the grass and further deepened the kiss.

Their bodies pressed against each other's. Saryuu's arms were wrapped tightly around Fei's waist while Fei's were secured around Saryuu's neck. The kiss lasted for a long while with either of them only pulling away for a second of breath before they connect once more.

"Ah…" Fei moaned as Saryuu's lips slid away and began nibbling at his jawline and down the sensitive curve of his neck. His grip around Saryuu's neck tightened when the other boy began sucking harshly at his collar bone. The greenette gasped out in discomfort, but kept perfectly still to allow Saryuu to do as he pleased.

When the white haired boy finished marking the greenette with a hard bite, Fei was immediately jolted back to reality. The hazed look in his eyes was gone. He hastily unwrap his arms from the other boy and pushed the body on top of his off. As Saryuu fell onto the grass, Fei scrambled up. He has a horrified look on his face as he crawled back to pull a distance.

"I'm sorry…I didn't know what came over me…I-I.." Fei struggled to come up with something, but was failing miserably. Saryuu watched with a neutral look as tears began streaming down the pale cheeks of the greenette.

"I don't regret what I did." Saryuu said slowly. That caused Fei to look up in shock. "I love you, Fei. I always have, since the first time I met you."

"Why…?" Fei's face scrunched up with pain as more tears flood out of his eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you like me too, don't you?" Saryuu asked as he pointed at the river of tears. "That's why you're crying."

"It doesn't matter what I want!" Fei snapped as he shut his eyes tightly, squeezing out more of the pearly tears. "We barely even know each other and I can't—! I-I…ugh…"

"Is it because of the Mountain Deity?" Saryuu asked slowly.

Fei didn't respond. He just kept his gaze to the ground as tears dripped from his chin and landed onto his lap.

"You don't have to do it, Fei. You don't need to marry that—"

"I can't!" Fei repeated. "I'm…I'm sorry, I just can't..."

"…I see." Saryuu slowly looked away as his eyelids slid over his lavender eyes, hiding the emotions swirling within them. "Your kimono should be dried now. It's best that you put it on before you catch a cold." He said as he used a stick to throw some mud over the fire to put it out.

The walk back to village was long and uncomfortable. Neither of the two exchanged a word. Fei walked with his head down, staring at his feet through the entire journey. The only time he looked up was when they arrived back into the village. He had looked up when he realized the lack of footsteps following him and found that Saryuu had vanished, leaving behind only the soccer ball in his place. The greenette felt what was left of his heart crushed into dust. He knew he didn't deserve it though, as he was the one who pushed Saryuu away.

That night, Fei didn't get a wink of sleep. He lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling. He kept replaying what had happened over and over inside his head. The more he remembered, the more regret he felt eating away his inside. His hand slowly trailed to the mark left on his collar bone as a droplet of tear rolled down his unblinking eyes. For the first time, Fei actually wished that the Mountain Deity doesn't exist. He hopped that it was all just a hallucination like his father had claimed it to be.

As the day grew brighter, Fei felt more and more of his fear eating him away. Finally unable to take it anymore, he climbed out of his bed. He headed for his father's room with a desperate urge to see him, not caring if the busy man was asleep or not. Thankfully, he was still up with his works and Fei let himself in. They only exchanged very limited amount of words before the room was drowned in silence. Any other times, Fei would hate the lack of communication, but not this time. For once, he found that he didn't mind the quietness. He was content just watching the back of the one who brought him into this world. He stayed in the corner until his father packed away his things in preparation for his well-deserved rest. Fei left then, bidding his father goodnight as he wandered to the garden. He stared at the full moon, still not feeling like returning to his room.

By the time he realized what he was doing, he was standing at the foot of the tall sakura tree. What he saw made him broke down and cried. It was just like Saryuu had stated when they first met.

The flowers were now on their first bloom.

Fei was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to see Saryuu. He didn't know why he felt such desperate need or what he should say when he do find him, but none of that matters. He just wanted to see the white haired boy again, even if this might be the last time.

He ran through the village, asking each villager he passed by if they know of the merchant's son. Strangely, none of them claimed to know of a dealer entering the village. Some replied nicely, though that was rare due to the fact that he was known as a liar in the village. Many ignored him with a roll of their eyes, muttering mean words that Fei couldn't help but saddened at despite his best to ignore them. He ran to the lake, but the place was as empty as the previous night when they left. He even asked all of his friends who were all kind enough to help. However, there was still no sign of the white haired boy.

It was as though Saryuu Evan had never existed to begin with.

* * *

Omiai – A Japanese custom in which unattached individuals are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of marriage.

* * *

I hope everyone has enjoyed the first chapter of Promised Night! I've always wondered what happens if Saru was a little perverted so I decided to add some fun scenes to show his attraction to Fei. This was originally supposed to be a one shot like the other two stories of my Saru and Fei, but I kind of went overboard and before I knew it, there are a total of 48 pages. Therefore, I have split it into three chapters. I originally planned to just cut it in half, but I need a good cliffhanger XD

I will update the next chapter once I finished editing. Rating will be changed to "M" once entering the third chapter.

A review to give me your thoughts on this story will be very much appreciated. I am very interested in hearing everyone's opinion of this story since it'll be the first multi-chapter Inazuma Eleven story I've done ^-^


	2. Midnight Carriage

_Beta'd by Meganical720D_

* * *

After a long day of fruitless searching, Fei was back at the sakura tree with his friends. The sun was slowly sinking from the sky, signalling the coming of the end of the day.

"I'm sorry Fei." Tenma mumbled, not knowing what else to say as he, along with the other teenagers of his age, surrounded the depressed greenette.

The pale boy sat at the base of the sakura tree with Shiro resting against his leg and the soccer ball on his lap. "No, it's fine." Fei mumbled and dreadfully wished how true his words could be. "He probably left already. I was the one who chased him away after all."

"Hey, don't give up yet." The purple haired boy, Hikaru, smiled. "Why don't we try again? I'm sure the person you're looking for is here somewhere."

"There's no need." Fei whispered as he climbed onto his feet and looked up at the orange sky. "Time is something I don't have. Not anymore."

"Fei–" Tenma wanted to say something to cheer up his friend, but Fei cut him off with a smile.

"Thank you everyone, but that's enough. You guys already helped me more than you should have."

"Don't say that, Fei!" the shortest boy of the group shouted. "You sound like you're going to leave or something."

Fei glanced down at Shinsuke, then to the ball in his hand. "Have you guys heard of soccer?"

"Soccer?" Tenma glanced at the weird ball that Fei had been holding onto the entire time. "What's that?"

"It's a really fun game, I'll show you!" The greenette said, showing a sign of happiness for the first time that day. He then began showing all his friends the rules and how to play, just as Saryuu had taught him.

As the last ray of light vanished into the horizon, the priestess lit up the torches for all the people who had gathered to view the first sakura blossom of the year. It was a tradition for the village that every year they would come together to view the sakura like this. Every family would bring food they made at home to share. Whilst the women were going about spreading food to everyone, the men sat together, chatting and gulping down bottles after bottles of sake. Fei saw his father there as well, on a quieter side speaking lowly to the head of the Takuto family.

After the intense activity, the children were resting near the incense burner. All were completely out of breath and some were laughing at the enjoyable game that they had just played. Fei smiled as he watched his friends examine the strange ball in wonder. He glanced back at the sakura tree, then to the sky where the full moon shone brightly.

"Yo, Usami brat, the Mountain Deity came for you yet?" A passing man taunted before he headed to his companions who all barked out in laughter.

"What's with them?" Kariya frowned in disgust. "You'd think they'd be mature seeing as they're adults."

"It's fine." Fei laughed weakly with a wave of his hand. "It's nothing, I'm already used to it."

"That's because you never stand up to them." A boy whose pink hair was tied into pigtails responded in a disapproving tone. He gasped out when a sharp edged rock suddenly hit him in the shoulder.

"Kirino!" The gray haired boy hurried to his best friend and inspected the injury.

"I'm fine, Shindou. It's just a small scratch." Kirino replied as he glanced up along with the others to see three kids around the age of ten standing there with pebbles gathered in their arms.

"Hey! That was dangerous!" Shinsuke yelled at the kids, despite how they were much taller than him.

"What did you do that for?" Amagi demanded, but the snot-nosed kid, that was apparently the leader of the trio, stuck out his tongue at them.

"Shut up fatty! This doesn't involve you!" He said before he glanced over to Fei and smirked widely. "Get him!"

"Ah!" Fei quickly put his hands up as the rocks were flung towards him.

"Hey! Stop it!" Tenma shouted as he quickly moved over to Fei, shielding his friend from the attack.

"Tenma!" Fei's eyes widened when he saw a particularly large rock hit the brunette in the arm, causing him to recoil.

"Enough of this!" Kurama snapped before Sangoku, Hamano and Amagi quickly ran up to seize the kids. While Sangoku and Amagi succeeded, Hamano was having trouble due to the fact that he was left with was the leader of the trio who wouldn't stop struggling.

"Stay still– Ouch!" Hamano yelled, releasing his grip when the boy bit down at his hand. Taking this chance, the kid kicked the older boy in the stomach before he made a run for it. He wasn't able to get far though, as Shiro had dropped down from the middle of nowhere and slammed him face first into the ground. The boy tried to crawl up, but froze when the fox snarled angrily, showing off its sharp rows of teeth.

"Nice, Shiro!" Nishiki shouted as he hurried over and took hold of the boy.

The three captured children glanced at each other, exchanging short silent messages before they began screaming out their lungs. The music and the chatters stopped. All the villagers' attentions were now attracted by the cries of the three boys. It didn't take long until three pairs of angry looking parents were rushing their way.

"What are you doing to my boy?!" A purple haired woman screeched as she quickly tore her child from Nishiki's grip before the other parents followed her example.

"What the hell are you brats doing?" Another man with sea-green hair demanded, glaring daggers down at the boys.

"Your children were throwing rocks at us, sir." Shindou replied, standing up to the angry parents.

"We didn't throw any at you!" One of the little followers that attacked them said. "We were just aiming at the liar!"

Fei couldn't help but flinch when the adults' gazes shifted to him. They took in the scratches he had suffered before the young boy's mother snorted. "Then they did nothing wrong. You boys better apologize for your behaviour right now before I get your parents."

"Excuse me?" Kirino glared at the adults. "They aimed rocks at our friend and you say there's nothing wrong?"

"If you want someone to blame, then blame him." The bald man threw a nasty glare to the greenette. "Everyone knows what a liar is he. Our kids are only punishing him for his constant lies. They did nothing wrong."

"Yeah!" The snotty kid smirked at them. "Liars need to be punished!"

"How could you even say that?" Tenma gasped. "Fei didn't lie!"

"That's right!" Shinsuke quickly agreed.

"Are you stupid, boy? He claims to be the bride of the Mountain Deity! It's what he deserves after he soiled our deity's name!"

"I agree." A young woman from the crowd of bystanders that had gathered shouted out. "Just because he wanted attention doesn't mean that it's right for him to tell lies."

"It's about time somebody taught him a lesson." Another man joined in.

"He's just a spoiled heir of a rich man."

"No one likes a liar, why don't you just get out?"

"We've been putting up with you for a long time but enough is enough!"

"Go away, liar!"

The crowd began shouting as Fei slowly took a step back, pressured by all the angry gazes locked onto him. He wanted to tell them. He wanted to say that he wasn't a liar, but he couldn't. Not when he couldn't even trust himself anymore and even hoping for his memory to be nothing but a fragment of a child's dream.

"What's going on here?" A voice broke through the angry shouts. Recognizing the voice, Fei quickly turned to see his father walking over along with the family of his friends.

"Fei? What happened to your face?" Fei swallowed nervously as his father inspected the cut on his cheek

"Tenma! You too, what happened?" Tenma's mother gasped in worry as she hurried to her boy.

"Kyosuke, what happened?" Tsurugi's brother asked as he glanced at the other villagers, then back.

"Usami-san, we have had enough of your son's lies." The mother of the arrogant kid said firmly. "This has been going for eleven years and it has to stop! His lies are affecting the entire village and most of all, our children!"

"Is that what this is about?" Fei's father asked in a calm yet stern tone.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves." Shindou's father said coldly after hearing the situation from his son. "Do you feel prideful ganging up on children?"

"They are sixteen, hardly children by standard." The tall moustached man, father of the snot-nosed kid, sneered. "It's time you should properly discipline your kid like you should have done years ago!"

"I–" Fei's gaze drifted to the ground. He knew he has to say something or else his father will take all the blames. "I'm sor–" Before he could choke out the burning word of apology, he father quickly put out a hand to stop him.

"Father?" Fei whispered as his father gazed down at him. He gave his son a small, encouraging smile before he turned back to the villagers with a stern look on his face.

"I want your sons to apologize to my son and his friends for the damage they have caused." He said firmly, glaring at the three troublemakers who shrunk back under his gaze.

"Apologize?" The violet haired mother shrieked. "My son did nothing wrong. If your son hadn't of lied–"

"My son would never tell lies." Fei looked up at his father in shock. "If he says he saw the deity, then I believe him."

"Heh, you hear that?" The bald man laughed as he turned to the audiences behind him. "The great Usami Asurei says he believes in his liar of a child!"

"So you're saying that you believe your son is betrothed to the Mountain Deity?" A younger man demanded.

"I never said that." Asurei replied flatly. The younger greenette felt the hope that he had just gained deflated a little.

"You just said you believed him!" Another protested.

"I do. I believe my son saw what we all know. However, it could be the dream of a child's fantasy or hallucination as it was a cold winter night. Whichever is the reason, Fei does not lie. He only speaks the truth of what he saw and I will not tolerate your attitudes towards my child."

"Father…" Fei felt touched at his father's speech. All this time, Fei had thought that his father thought of him the same as everyone else – a liar. But now he knew that his father trusted his words all along, even though he didn't exactly believe it be real, it was more than enough.

"Not tolerate our attitudes?" It was the snot-nosed kid's mother again, enraged by the man's speech. "Not only do you not properly teach your child, you're throwing the blame to us?"

"Maybe it's the father that taught his son to lie!" Another snapped, glaring daggers towards the unflinching man.

"How disgusting! To think the honourable house of the Usami is ruled by a person like that!"

"Birds of feathers really do flock together." Another spoke with a scowl directing to the others of Fei's friends.

"Don't speak ill of my father or my friends!" The greentte finally couldn't hold it anymore and shouted. He didn't mind if they insulted or hit him, but he couldn't just stand by and let them say what they want to the people he cared for. "They have nothing to do with any of this. I was the one who said I met the Mountain Deity."

"And where is that deity now?" An old man snorted. "Tonight's the night isn't it?"

"T-that's…" Fei stuttered, the confidence he felt in the rush of the moment deflated. When the crowd saw how the boy struggled on giving an answer, a smug look crossed all of their faces.

"See? You don't know, liar!"

"We told you that Fei doesn't lie!" Tenma cut in.

"That's right, you guys don't even know Fei! You have no rights to call him a liar!"

"Tenma… Shinsuke." Fei whispered as he stared at the two brunettes gratefully.

"And you call yourselves men?" Nishiki shouted.

"Before you call other people liars, look at yourself! Every time something happens you people always vent your frustration out on Fei. You were always using him as scapegoat for your own problems!" Kirino glared at the group.

"What?" Asurei gasped. His eyes fell onto his paled son. "Fei, was what Kirino said just now true?"

Fei swallowed, not knowing what he should say. Kirino had just burst out the secret he told them not to tell in the heat of the moment. Since his father has always locked himself in his room to devote himself to his work, he never really learnt of how he does in the world outside… And he had hoped to keep it that way.

"You brats! How dare you speak to your superiors in that tone!" The moustached man snarled.

"So now we're brats again?" Kariya laughed mockingly. "I thought that a certain _somebody _said that sixteen year olds are considered adults. Wonder who it was, huh?"

"You–!"

Just as the man was about to stomp forward and teach the disrespectful kid a lesson, the howls of wolves resonated through the air. The villagers quickly looked around in alarm, startled by how close the roars of the beasts sounded. It sounded almost like there were wolves in the village, and that brought great unease to everyone. As they tried to determine the direction of howls, the sakura blossoms began to emit a soft purple glow. Everyone momentarily forgot what they were doing as they stared at the sacred tree in both shock and awe.

"The flowers are… Glowing?" Tenma stared at the flowers in confusion, much like everyone else, unable to understand what was going on.

"My sixteenth year… Under the night of the first sakura." Fei gasped as he remembered the words spoken to him that day.

A violent breeze tore through the air and to everyone's surprise; the sakuras scattered into the wind, breaking down into millions of petals and leaving the tree bare.

The sea of pink twirled within the air and formed a giant globe before it burst apart. That was when Fei saw them, the people standing upon the carpet of pink petals floating within the air.

They looked all to be near his age, standing in straight rows of lines with their heads held high and hands folded behind their backs. They all wore different kimonos in different, unique styles. The clothes were made from extremely fine silk. Even from the distance, Fei could tell this from the vibrant colours sparkling under the soft light of the moon and illuminating petals. At the centre was a carriage, pulled by two horse sized wolves. One was pure white while the other had a mixture of pink in its fur. Both of them were glaring down at the beings beneath them and growling unpleasantly.

"W-what are they?" Hikaru whispered and jumped when all the people in the sky parted their eyes that were all glowing eerily, proving that none of them could possibly be human.

"What are you doing?" A cold voice echoed into the air, startling everyone as Fei's eyes drifted to the purple haired girl standing beside the white wolf. "You are in the presence of the Mountain Deity. Who gave you permission to raise your head?" She snapped her glare down at the villagers. With a sharp flick of her wrists, the people that were ganging up on them were forced to to their knees. Fei stared in shock when he saw that same purplish light outlining the sakura was now also on the villagers.

"What's going on?" Shinsuke gasped, but no one responded to his question. They all just stared at the villagers that were on their hands and knees. All of them were stunned into silence and some looked even frightened by what was occurring.

**"Meia, that's enough." **A strong, deep voice that radiated with power cut through the air. When Fei heard that voice, he couldn't help but shiver and felt goosebumps crawling over his skin. The voice was simply not human. It sounded like there were multiple voices speaking together in perfect sync. Fei immediately recognized the unique voice that matched perfectly with the one from his memory, the one he was never able to forget.

The girl glanced to the carriage before she looked back to the kneeling villagers. She retracted her hand as the outline over the villagers vanished; freeing them from the invisible binds.

Fei felt his heart stopp when the blinds of the carriage was pulled to the side, revealing a person in black kimono with the beautiful white design of spring printed over the fine silk. He stepped out of the carriage with a type of grace none of the others had. The greenette tried to get a glimpse of his face, but it was impossible as the man was wearing a pumpkin orange sheet over his head like a cloak to hide his head and face within the shadows. He stood up tall, seeming to survey the people for a moment before he suddenly vanished into a flash of blue. Fei quickly looked around. As he wondered where the person had gone to, darkness abruptly shrouded his sight.

"Fei!" Fei heard his father shout as he reached out and pulled away whatever that was obstructing his view. When he did, he was stunned to find that he was gripping onto the soft fabric of a black sleeve hung on a peach-orange shaded hand. The teen turned around and jumped when he found himself staring at the black kimonoed male whose face was still hidden by the orange sheet. He instantly tried to back away, but the person had a firm hold on his shoulder to prevent him from doing so. Hearing the call of his name from the distance, Fei looked back to see his father and friends who were all eyeing the mysterious being warily.

**"I have come to see to the promise that had been made during the winter eleven years ago."**

Fei felt his breath stop when the mysterious person confirmed his identity through that speech. The villagers all cringed back when they caught the set of narrowed eyes illuminating from the shadowed, hidden face of their god.

**"I must say, I am disappointed with what I have witnessed tonight. Not only did some street brats inflict injuries on my bride, you even dare to accuse and verbally assault him." **As the deity spoke the words, Fei couldn't help but quivered. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but the surrounding temperature seemed to be dropping rapidly.

The Mountain Deity slowly leaned down. With a hand gently taking Fei's chin, he turned the boy's head so that he could stare into the frightened looks of the villagers.

**"Tell me, my bride. How would you like me to deal with them?"**

Fei's eyes widened when he realized what the deity was asking of him.

The villagers immediately began to cry for mercy, but were silenced when the deity shot them another sharp look.

"I can ask for anything?" Fei asked slowly, his eyes never drifting away from the ones that had caused him pain for so many years.

**"I will do anything you ask, Fei." **The deity whispered into his ear, causing him to shiver for a different reason now.

"Then can you overlook this?" He requested.

**"Overlook?"** The figure asked, wanting to make sure he had not misheard.

"I don't blame them for not believing in me. I had no proof and I was only a kid. To be honest, if I was in one of their shoes… I might not have believed myself either." Fei explained slowly, trying his best to change his thoughts and feelings into words.

**"They used you, Fei." **The deity pointed out in a calm tone. **"Every time misfortune occurred in their lives, they took it out on you because in their eyes, you are _bad_. They simply threw the blames and pain of their own lives onto you to make themselves feel better. No one has right to inflict pain on another. They have done nothing to deserve your mercy. Were they not also the ones who had forsaken your father when he was in need of help?"**

The villagers blanched upon the deity's harsh words. One woman parted her mouth to protest, but was quickly cut off by her husband who didn't dare to risk angering the deity any more than they already had. Asurei was glancing back and forth from the villagers to the deity. His face was displaying a mixture of shock and anger as he took in the deity's words. He then turned his head, glancing at the nearest friend of Fei's for answer, which unfortunately happened to be Tenma. The poor brunette only gave the man a weak smile as he shied away from the demanding gaze.

**"Your father is a worthy man who works to spread influence towards the other villages so that the people of this village will live a better life. However, those fools are blinded by the simple hatred of the difference in wealth and status that they failed to see what he was doing for them."**

"I…" Fei looked over the shocked faces of the villagers who were all stunned by the news, then back to the deity. "You said it yourself. No one has the right to inflict pain on another, so what gives me that right? If I do it, then I'll be no different than any of them."

Some of the villagers flinched when the last sentence was directed at them. A few in the crowd looked away, feeling ashamed and a bit guilty as they thought back to how they had treated the _liar_ for the first time in years.

"Hmph, how stupid." Fei looked up at the deity, but quickly realized it was not him that had spoken. When Fei looked down, he gasped when he saw Shiro walking him to them with his golden eyes shining brightly. "You're always too soft, Fei."

"S-Shiro?" Fei gasped when the fox had spoken.

"It's not _Shiro_." The fox corrected as a glow of white began to engulf his body. The fox began to morph, growing larger and larger. The fur outlining the figure began to vanish, together with the ears and tail. The front paws spread out into fingers as it began taking a human form. By the time the light faded away, Shiro was no more. Standing there was a golden eyed boy with messy white hair and dressed in a white and gold kimono with the design of a fox.

"W-what…?" Fei's mouth opened and closed, resembling a fish on land as he tried to take in what had just happened with his pet.

"Shiro transformed!" Nishiki exclaimed out from the side, causing _Shiro_ to shoot the long haired boy a glare.

"Shall we depart? The night is growing short and we're running out of time." The white haired boy asked with a formal bow towards the deity who was gazing up at the night.

**"Don't think you are safe from punishment. Although my bride has apparently forgiven you, I have not." **The deity said in a cold promise towards the villagers. He then slipped his arm around Fei's waist and pulled him against his chest.

"Wait!" Fei looked up to see his father walking over, but was quickly stopped by the Shiro transformed teen.

"Fei…" Asurei stared at his son with a conflicted look on his face. He seemed to want to say something, but doesn't know where to start.

**"You will see him again." **The deity said. **"That will be my promise to you. Everything between you and my bride can be sorted out then."**

Fei didn't know what exactly happened after that, but by the time he had blinked, he found himself sitting on the deity's lap inside what seemed to be the carriage.

"FEI!" The greenette heard the voices of his friends. He gasped out when he saw how far they were from the ground. The petals supporting them began to scatter.

"Father, everyone–!" Fei wanted to reach out to them, but the arm around his waist tightened and pressed him back against the deity's chest.

Fei swallowed back some tears as he watched the petals close the last little gap of his sight on the people he had known for all these years. The blinds fell down, completely blocking off his view of the outside word the carriage began to move.

He stayed like that in the being's arms for a long while. In his mind, he kept wondering when they will arrive to their destination and couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. He was now officially the Mountain Deity's… Meaning that was all he would ever be in the future. He thought back to the time he spent with his friends and father and…

"Saru…" He whispered unconsciously and gasped when the arm around him tightened.

**"Saru?"** Fei's eyes widened in horror when he realized the mistake he had just made. **"Who is _Saru_, Fei?"**

"H-he's…" The greenette struggled on his words. "He's a son of a merchant who travelled to our village…"

**"So he's a friend?" **The deity pressed on, leaning so close that Fei could feel the other's breath caressing his cheek.

"Yes–" Fei tried to reply, but the deity chose that second to lean in and captured his lips. The boy's eyes flew wide at the contact. He nearly tried to fight against it when he remembered who it was kissing him. So he sat rigidly, allowing the deity to slowly pry open his lips as the soft appendage slipped in.

Rather than feeling disgust, Fei felt himself enjoying the contact. The way the tongue rubbed against him and the flavour of the lips greatly reminded him of Saryuu. It felt so much like the white haired boy that Fei couldn't help but slowly closed his eyes and imagined how it was him there, holding him instead of the deity. As he relived the short time he spent with Saryuu, tears began to roll down his cheeks.

**"If he is simply a friend, why are you crying?" **The deity whispered against his open lips.

"I-it's not like that!" Fei tried to pull away, but the other's hand had at one point slipped behind his head and locked him in place. He whimpered knowing that there was no way out.

**"Don't lie to me. Tell me the truth, Fei."** Fei parted his lips to respond, but his words never got out as the deity began kissing him in a rougher manner. After the kiss finally ended some agonizing minutes later, the greenette was left weak and struggling with his breathes.

"I…" Fei panted and slowly looked down. Panics were clearly displayed in his wet eyes. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to…I-I…!"

**"So you do like him."**

Fei felt more tears flow down his eyes as he tried to control himself. "It doesn't matter anymore…he's already gone."

**"You are giving up?" **Fei found the question of the deity strange, but he couldn't find himself to care with the pain eating away his inside. The word "give up" dealt a heavy damage to his heart and it only added salt to the wound when it was the deity himself who had asked. **"Do you regret making that deal with me?"**

"No!" Fei exclaimed. "I can never… I'm grateful for you, I've always have been, so I don't regret it."

**"Then why do you continue to shed tears?"**

"Please… Don't ask..." Fei begged, finally unable to take it anymore as he began to weep quietly against the warm body he was pressed against. "Just don't ask me anymore… I'm sorry… Just… No more…"

As he cried, the deity gently ran his fingers through the green locks to calm him. **"I don't regret choosing you."** He said as he leaned down and planted a tender kiss on the human's forehead. **"I love you, Fei. I always have since the first time I met you."**

Fei felt his heart stop when he heard that familiar line. His glanced into the face that was protected by dark shadows.

"W-what…did you just…?"

The deity didn't respond. He just sat there, simply staring back. Fei thought back to the way the deity caressed him when they kissed and how similar those gestures were to Saryuu's. They tasted the same and most importantly, those words just now were the exact same as the ones that Saryuu had said to him.

"It can't be…" He then remembered the way _Shiro _acted in the presence of Saryuu. Now that he knew Shiro wasn't a fox but actually one of the deity's followers, it would explain his dislike to people petting him. If he had allowed Saryuu to so easily touch him…

"S-Saru?" Fei whispered with a bit of hope in his voice. "Are you…Saru?"

He slowly reached out a shaky hand for the sheet blocking his view of the deity's face. He stopped just when his fingers brushed by the soft fabric. He waited for the hand that would come to stop him at any moment, but it never did. The being simply sat back in his seat, almost as though he was waiting for him to continue.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Fei slowly grasped the cloth. With a deep breath, he pulled it off as spiky snow white hair came into view. Fei's hand fell to his side as the sheet slipped away from his limp fingers. His eyes were wide and staring into those lavender orbs he had fell in love in only a mere day.

"Sa–" Fei choked. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"**Surpr**ised, Fei?" The _deity _asked as his voice reverted back to the soft, crisp tone that could only belong to Saryuu. The white haired boy was thrown back when Fei pounced onto him with arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

Saryuu smiled at the other's enthusiasm, but his smile fell a little when he felt Fei's body trembled in his arms. It didn't take long for him to realize that the greenette was silently weeping against his shoulder with his black kimono sucking up his tears.

"Saru… Saru, Saru!" Fei repeated the name over and over, wanting to confirm that this was not a dream and indeed a reality.

Saryuu's eyes softened at the desperate call of his name. He tightened his hold and rested his face into the silky green hair. "I'm here." He whispered softly. "I'm here, Fei."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Fei sniffed. "Why did you lie about being a merchant's son?"

"I wanted you to see me as who I am, not as some Mountain Deity you are only forced to be together with." Saryuu replied as he began kissing the soft cheek. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this day."

Fei shivered as Saryuu's lips moved down his neck and nibbled at the dark hickey he had made yesterday.

"Fei..." Saryuu moved back up and breathed. Just when his teeth barely scratched Fei's soft earlobe, the carriage began shaking violently.

"Saru! Stop making out and get your ass here!" A voice roared from outside. Fei gasped when something had slammed into the side of the carriage, causing it to flip. He clutched onto Saryuu and closed his eyes out for the incoming impact. When he heard a loud crashing sound, he had expected to feel some sort of pain, but it never came. He hesitantly opened his eyes, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. Right before his eyes was one of the giant wolves that were pulling the carriage, snarling angrily at him.

"Fei, it's alright." Saryuu chuckled when Fei clutched onto him tightly. Despite how his neck was locked in a choking hold, Saru could barely feel it for that he was busy savouring their closeness. With one arm under the boy supporting all of his weight, he used his other to stroke the boy's back to reassure him that everything was alright.

"Garsha." When Saryuu turned back to the glaring wolf, the warmness in his eyes were gone, replaced by a hint of coldness. "You're scaring my bride."

"You…!" Fei jumped in Saryuu's grasp when the wolf actually spoke. It growled lowly and surely would have pounced if a silver haired boy didn't come over and grabbed the wolf by the loose flesh at its nape.

"Now, now, you were the one who volunteered to help our dear childhood friend here." The teen said calmly, though Fei noticed a very conflicted look on his face. He seemed to be struggling with something and his shoulders were trembling, almost as though he was…

"When I said I'd help pick up his bride I didn't mean this! Do I look like a horse– Vanfeny! Stop laughing!" The wolf howled, and the instant he did, the surrounding people all burst into a fit of laughter.

Fei slowly looked around, surprised by the sudden change of atmosphere. When he last saw them, they were all wearing the same stoic expression. None of them looked like they were capable of making any emotions, so this kind of development wasn't one that he had expected. He looked around the group before he spotted the carriage he was just on, lying on the side and pretty much trashed.

He immediately looked around at his surroundings, then back to the carriage. His eyes displayed the shock he felt as he wondered how they had even gotten out of the carriage and arrived here.

"That was priceless!" A boy with blue hair cackled as he slapped the back of his nearest companion – which happened to be the golden eyed boy transformed from Shiro. "I can't believe I'd live to see the day Garsha and Garo would end up pulling a carriage!"

"Yo, Garo! You were pretty cool back there!" Another laughed to a tall, white haired teen that was curled up under the shadow of a tree, ripping the grass from its roots and muttering a string of inaudible words. Fei began to sweat drop at the sight, not knowing what to say or if he should be saying anything at all.

"Saru." A purple haired girl said as she walked up to the deity. Fei instantly recognized her as the girl from before who had made all the villagers kneel. "The night is getting short. Isn't it time you…?"

The greenette blinked when the girl trailed off, giving him a look before turning back to Saryuu. There must have been some silent message exchanged, for that Saryuu responded with a short nod.

"Make sure no one disturbs us." As Saryuu said that, he turned and that was when Fei saw it. There, within the darkness was a silhouette of the largest building the greenette has ever seen in his life. Or was it a building? There were tall structures in the form of spikes enclosing over it, making it seem all the more monstrous. Feeling pressured under the presence of something so enormous, Fei couldn't help but feel a little frightened and pressed himself closer against the white haired boy.

Feeling his unease, Saryuu leaned to his ear, whispering small words of comfort before Fei's sight became dark. He looked around with a gasp, surprised that his surrounding has changed once again. He couldn't see much though, aside from the wide, rectangular hole in the wall that revealed the starry night sky.

"Saru, this is…?" Fei asked, but Saryuu didn't reply and simply headed for that opening. It was only when they came close enough did Fei realized that there was a barrier of some. It looked like ice, but it was much clearer than that.

"This is your present, Fei." Saryuu lowered the greenette to his feet. When Fei looked outside, he gasped at how high they were. He tried to back away, but Saryuu had placed his hand on his back to stop him. The white haired boy smiled at the nervousness displayed on the greenette.

"Don't worry, you won't fall." With a hard push, Fei stumbled forward with a yelp. His arms hit the transparent barrier. It was only after a few seconds did Fei realized that his fall has been stopped and looked up. He breathed heavily as he stared at the transparent wall supporting him. He glanced at it for a moment, giving it a little push but the thing didn't budge at all.

"It's called _glass_." Saryuu introduced as he slammed his palm hard against the see-through wall, making Fei jump in surprise. "It won't break, so you don't need to worry."

The white haired boy chuckled at the greenette's reaction, making Fei blush in embarrassment. He quickly tried to hide it by distracting himself and looking outside, wondering what Saryuu had meant by _present_. Unfortunately, it was too dark to make out anything other than the silhouettes of mountains. His eyes drifted over the land, wondering what it could be that Saryuu wanted him to see when he spotted a speck of light just below him. He looked down and was shocked to see bright yellow petals shining within the darkness just below him. The greenette's jaw dropped slightly. He was certain that the elegant tree wasn't there before.

As he observed, he was shocked when the colours began bleeding out from the darkness surrounding the tree. It was orange this time, but they weren't flowers. They were round and small, like fruits of some sort. The colours continued to spread, ranging from all kinds of different colours and revealing various type of plants, all of them Fei had never seen before. There was a willow-like tree with strange violet marking on the barks and baring a string of cottony white flowers. There was another tree with glowing fruits about the size of persimmons and another blossoming with lovely pink flowers.

By the time Fei realized, the entire land was shining with so many colours that the stars in the night sky were no longer visible, overpowered by the gorgeous lights.

"It's beautiful…" Fei whispered breathlessly as he took in the sight. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Everything was so surreal that it he briefly wondered if this was a dream.

"Saru, this is amazing!" He turned with a bright smile on his face, only to freeze when he realized how Saryuu was standing close behind him, their clothes brushing against each other's and their faces only an inch apart.

"I'm glad you enjoy it." Saryuu whispered. His eyes were half-lidded, glazed with an intense look that Fei couldn't identify, but was unable to help but blush under. They kept their eyes on each other's for a short while before Saryuu moved forward and pressed their lips together in a deep, passionate kiss. The force pushed Fei back, hitting the glass as their bodies pressed together. Saryuu moved his lips across Fei's sensually and drew out a long moan from the boy. As Fei shyly begin to respond, Saryuu's arms wrapped around the shorter boy, pulling them together tightly with the greenette's hands resting against Saryuu's chest.

Lost in the kiss, Fei didn't realize how Saryuu was slowly guiding him back towards the center of the room until he felt something hit his knees which caused him to tumble backward. The kiss was broken as Fei collapsed down onto something soft. When his body sank down, he thought for sure that whatever was supporting him was going to collapse, but instead he surprisingly sprang back up. He held his breath as the thing supporting onto him sprang a few more times before his movement finally stopped.

When Saryuu snapped his finger, the room suddenly lit up so brightly that Fei had to forced his eyes shut. As he took his time adjusting his sight, he never saw the glow being emitted from Saryuu's eyes as blinds slid over the window, blocking the view of the outside world.

After he finally managed to open his eyes, he was once again stunned by another unnatural sight.

The room that was dark now was lit brightly due to the lights coming from the ceiling. There weren't any candles, but round globes of things that resembled miniature suns. And the room… Nothing in the room was anything Fei had seen before. Even the floor! Floors are made with wood, that was common sense but the floor in this room was made out of perfect squares of some sort of smooth white stone. Looking down, Fei found himself sitting on a large, rectangular thing covered by a large sheet of beautifully made silk blanket.

"This is what we sleep on. We call it a _bed_." Saryuu said with a light smile, enjoying the utter look of shock displayed on the greenette.

"_Bed_?" Fei glanced down unsurely. "You mean a futon*?"

"Just _bed_." Saryuu chuckled. When he sat up, Fei instantly stilled when the _bed_ beneath him moved again. This time, there were even creaking noises accompanying it. "S-Saru! It's going to collapse!"

"It's not going to collapse." Saryuu chuckled at how adorable the boy was being, although he was a bit offended of how the human was worried about the bed rather than of him. He pushed Fei back down and climbed onto his love, causing the bed to shake and Fei sinking down from their weights. The frightened greenette quickly grasped onto Saryuu out of reflex and only relaxed when the shaking finally stopped.

"Fei." Saryuu said sternly, causing Fei to flinch before he retracted himself from the other.

"Sorry!" He hurriedly apologized. "I was just surprised, I didn't mean to–"

"Fei."Fei quickly stopped blabbering as he stared up at the white haired boy whose face was just hovering over his. "Fei, do you love me?"

"W-why are you suddenly–?" Fei spluttered with a deep blush. His words were cut off when Saryuu pressed his index finger against his lips.

"The time you've had know me is short, whilst I have known you for a long time. I've always been waiting for the promised night so I can bring you back. However, you are a human, Fei. In order for you to live together with me in Feida, I need to change you. You need to be reborn into one of us."

"What do you mean by reborn?" Fei asked once Saryuu withdrew his hand.

"You saw Yuuchi, didn't you?"

"Yuuchi?"

"The white fox you called _Shiro_." Fei's eyes widened in realization when he remembered the white haired boy that his long-time friend had turned into. "Along with all my followers you have seen, they were once ordinary animals without any special powers."

"W-what?" Fei gasped at the news. "But… They were…"

"They are only able to take the form of human because I gave them a drop of my blood." Saryuu explained. "Human calls us deities, but in our own term, we're called the Second Stage Children."

"Second Stage Children?" Fei repeated softly, wondering exactly what that meant and why were deity calling themselves _children_.

"The name comes from the SSC gene we are born with. We stop aging shortly after entering our teenage years. With our abilities and our child-like appearance, we're called as such."

"Stop aging?" Fei stared at the other boy. "Does that mean you live on forever…?"

"No, I meant our appearance." Saryuu replied. "We still age, only much slower than human. But despite how many years pass, our look will never change. From the moment we stopped changing to the end of our lives, we will always be in the forms of children. That's why I needed to wait until you turned sixteen, Fei." His lavender eyes stared at the boy beneath him lovingly.

"When living beings are injected with a bit of my DNA, they are reborn as a Second Stage Child. The only difference between pure Second Stage Children and changed Second Stage Children is that the latter cannot age the instant they were changed, and their abilities purely rely on the one that sired them. That's why if we are to change someone or something, the condition is that they must be in the required age range, or the process won't work."

"Slower than human…?" Fei then realized where Saryuu was going, despite how some strange words were mixed in with his explanation that he couldn't quite understand. For the longest time, the story of the Mountain Deity had always been in their village. If that was the same Mountain Deity, meaning Saryuu, then that must have meant that he had lived for a long time.

"How long…have you lived for?" He asked softly.

"I don't remember." Saryuu shrugged casually. "I've lost count after two hundred years, though I'm still considered quite young."

"Two hundred…!" The greenette gasped in shock. "Then are you saying I will be like that too?"

"Yes." Saryuu said seriously as he dropped his playful smile. "Although your changing process will be much different than with the others, as you are to be my wife." Fei felt his cheeks heated at how Saryuu addressed him.

"Each of the Second Stage Children has a time where his or her power is at its highest. We perform the rituals during this time where the dominant – the stronger of the two Second Stage Children, will transfer a proportion of his power into their partner. This transfer can only be done once, that's why we do it during the time when we are the strongest, to assure that our partner receives the extra boost of power. I am of the element earth and the guardian of the mountains, meaning that the first blossom of spring – tonight, is the time where I'm at my strongest."

"Ritual?" The human looked up at Saryuu and noticed a bit of unease on his face. The second Stage Child didn't reply immediately. He looked off towards the side of the room, seeming to be sorting some things in his mind before he turned back to him.

"By ritual, I mean the marriage ritual." When Saryuu saw the still confused look in Fei's eyes, he let out a sigh. "It means taking your virginity."

The greenette understood with this explanation as his cheeks busted into various shades of red. It was fortunate that he did or Saryuu would have to go into details, not that deity mind.

"That is how I will transfer my power to you, and my sperm that carries my DNA will be what turns you into a Second Stage Child."

Right then and there, Fei wanted to faint. He nearly did with the way his brain had been overheating, if not for the sharp lavender eyes pinning onto his consciousness.

"That's why I want you to choose. Once you're changed, there is no turning back. You will never be human again and you shall live for a long time with your body remaining as it is, never growing old."

"That means that I will one day outlive my father and my friends." Fei whispered.

Saryuu's gaze saddened at his words. He knew the choice he was forcing onto Fei was too sudden, but there was no other way. Time was something neither of them had. He had already pushed the limit for Fei as he wanted him to spend more time in the human realm. If they waited longer, the greenette will never be able to become part of the Second Stage Children. He could push the date. The marriage ritual doesn't matter as long as Fei could make a choice that he wouldn't live to regret. Fei didn't need the boost of his power anyways, as he will always protect him. Even if he chooses to become human, that would be fine. Anything was alright as long as he is able to keep seeing him, even if it's only during the short years of a human's lifespans.

The deity was brought out of his inner world when he felt a hand brushed by his cheek. When he looked down, he was surprised by his own reflection in those mint green eyes. His own face in those stunning eyes was frowning back at him, eyebrow knitted together and jaw tightly clenched.

He looked weak. For the first time in his life, Saryuu looked weak. He had never exposed any weaknesses like this before… So why? Why at a time like this, in front of the least person he never wanted to show weakness to?

"Don't look like that, Saru." Fei said softly, unable to help but feel his heart break when Saryuu made that kind of miserable look. The white haired boy stared down at him before he overlapped his hand over Fei's that was resting against his cheek. He leaned against the warmth of the human, tilting his head to plant a small kiss onto his wrist.

Fei quivered at the electrical jolt that ran through his veins. He stared into those old and lonely eyes, finally finding his answer to both himself and Saryuu.

"You don't have to come up with a decision now, Fei." Saryuu finally spoke as he slowly pulled the pale hand off, only to have Fei unexpectedly sit up and throw his arms around him.

"No." Fei clutched onto Saryuu tightly and buried his face into the crook of deity's neck. "I want to be with you, Saru." He whispered softly, gaining the other's immediate attention.

"Fei…" Saryuu opened and closed his mouth. He frowned, wondering what could be the reason behind the sudden decision. "It's alright, there's no need to rush." He told the boy. "You don't need to decide now."

"Saru, please just listen to me." Fei begged, and smiled when Saryuu closed his mouth. Although his eyes were staring at something else, Fei knew the other was listening.

"It's true what you said about me not knowing you for long. I don't know your likes and dislikes… What you do in your free time or anything at all…" Saryuu dipped his head to look at the flustered face hiding against his neck. "But what I do know is that you're kind. You saved my father. You showed and taught me a lot of wonderful things. You were willing to listen to my problems and talk over them with me. You even made me laugh, something I wasn't able to do for a long time because of the pressure I was faced with every day. You saved me, Saru. In many ways, you saved me just by coming into my life. I finally found out what this feeling, this pain and emptiness was after I pushed you away."

Fei paused and took a breath to gather his courage for the next sentence to come.

"I love you, Saru. Please... Let me be with you."

* * *

Futon –means _bedding_. It's a quilted mattress rolled out on the floor where people sleeps on as bed.

* * *

Special thanks to Meganical720D who has kindly offered her time to beta this chapter!


	3. Full Moon Night

_Beta'd by MizuKi-chan-18_

* * *

"I love you, Saru. Please...let me be with you."

He said it.

The greenette's face flustered when he realized how he finally said those three words. He let out a startled squeak when a pair of hands grabbed his shoulder and tore him away. His crimson cheeks that had been hiding against Saryuu's neck were completely exposed by the bright light. He looked up at the white haired boy shyly, only to gasp when the other locked their lips together and used his body to pin him further into the bed, making the unstable thing shake again. Fei didn't flinch this time, as his mind was long gone, clouded by the pleasure of how Saryuu was practically devouring his face.

"Are you sure?" Saryuu panted once he pulled away, but not as heavily as Fei who was gulping for air to ease his burning lungs. "There's no going back. Your family and friends…"

"I…" Fei waited a little longer until he could talk properly again. "The one that gets left behind is the most painful." His eyes gave a bitter glint as he remembered to how he was back as a child. Every night, he could remember himself crying to sleep, afraid that when he wakes the next day his father would be gone and he'll be left alone in this world.

"I've nearly experienced it and it's not a good feeling. That's why I don't want anyone else to feel that way. It doesn't matter if I can't age. I want to be with you and continue to look after my relatives. I won't abandon either of you." He smiled. "Unless you take back about me not being able to visit my village."

"That would depend on how long you stay with them." Saryuu chuckled jokingly before he began to bite at the soft cheek. The greenette yelped when he suddenly felt his obi loosened. With a swift pull by Saryuu, his kimono came loose and nearly revealed all of his naked body if he hadn't been fast enough to grab the fabric and keep it around him.

"S-Saru!"

"Don't worry." Saryuu chuckled as his eyes ravished the boy. "I plan to go nice and _slow_." He purred, causing Fei to tremble as Saryuu pressed his body back down onto his. After he stole another kiss, he began planting hickies onto the milk white shoulder exposed to him. The hand that wasn't supporting his weight slowly peeled the fabric aside, revealing the sinfully delicious legs which he began to caress.

Fei's body quivered when Saryuu pushed his hip down, making the greenette suddenly aware of how their members were pushing against each other's. He could feel Saryuu's through the thin fabrics separating them. The other's cock was impossibly hard and from what he could feel against his own, rather large too. Just the thoughts caused his own to begin to harden. He tried to distract himself by thinking up random things, but it was too late. He felt embarrassment taking over him, knowing full well that Saryuu could feel his growing erection. He turned his head to bury his face into the bed. It was the only place he could hide his shame with the room's unnatural brightness – or half of it, with his hands occupied with keeping his kimono together. Saryuu didn't help the situation at all. In fact, he was making it worse by raking his eyes over him the entire time. Those lavender eyes never once looked away as though he was trying to memorize every expression the greenette would make. This made Fei want nothing more than to crawl somewhere where no one would ever find him.

"Fei, don't look away." Saryuu whispered as he leaned down and assaulted the neck exposed to him. Although the sensation tempted Fei to turn his head back and feel Saryuu more, he didn't. He didn't want Saryuu to see his face at all, so his companion did the next thing that came to mind. He reached down and grabbed the greenette's supple butt cheek. Before the greenette could react his hip was lifted off the bed just as Saryuu grinded his own hip down. The friction of their members rubbing together caused the greenette's head to snap back up with a long, throaty moan.

Saryuu hurriedly took advantage of this chance to capture his lips before the he could try and hide his face again. As Fei was distracted, he didn't realize how high up the other hand that had been caressing his leg had slid up to until it began to slide towards his inner tight. Fei instinctively tried to clamp his legs shut, but was met with the obstacles in the form of Saryuu Evan's legs. The white haired boy shifted his knees; slowly pushing the pale limbs hooked around him further apart as his fingers...

* * *

_[The lemon has been cut because I don't want to risk having my story removed. To view the lemon, please visit: yellowcanna . tumblr . co#m/post/49901377857/promised-night (Please remove the # and spaces between each dots)__. If the link doesn't work, you can also visit my profile where the main link of my blog will be at.]_

* * *

After the intense activity, Fei was left quivering from the intense pleasure he had experienced as he rested on top of Saryuu. As the two bathed in the afterglow, Fei jolted when he felt the warmth inside him beginning to fizzle. His legs that were tangled together with Saryuu's twitched when something prickled him from inside.

His breathing that had just begun to ease started to speed up again. His heartbeats increased at an alarming rate as his body twitched when he felt another tingling sensation. It was as though something was trying to take control over his body.

"S-Saru…" Fei gasped, panicking at what was happening.

"It's alright." Saryuu hushed as he ran his hand up and down the greenette's back. "Don't fight it, Fei. Let the feeling take you away."

Fei stared at Saru. His green eyes were beginning to dim as his eyelids slowly drew down. He parted his lips, but his voice never had the chance to come out before he fell limp into Saryuu's arm.

The Mountain Deity held onto the boy, enjoying the feeling of the other's warmth and the comfortable walls wrapped loosely around his softened member. He wished he could stay like this forever, but unfortunately, fate was not on his side when he felt the weight on top of him beginning to lighten. He quickly pulled himself out of Fei and threw the blanket over them. The white haired teen didn't show any hint of surprised when his lover began to shrink and the skin against his began growing out soft fur. Saryuu sat up and watched as the greenette became smaller and smaller until he was cradling the boy in his arms like a newborn child.

The Second Stage Child's eyes illuminated. The light in the room was instantly switched off and the curtain peeled apart once more. The soft ray of the full moon slide through the window and lit the dark room. Saryuu held the bundle gently in his hand and gazed to the moon outside the window. When he peeled the blanket apart, he smiled when he found himself staring at a small white rabbit sleeping peacefully in his arms.

"A rabbit under a full moon…" Saryuu mumbled as he carefully caressed the soft fur before his hand began to emit a glow of green light that shrouded the small creature.

"From now on, your new name will become Fei Lune."

oOo

_"Ugh…" The small, green haired boy groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. At first, his sight was blurred, but he quickly rubbed it away upon a warm breeze blowing by his face. When he opened his eyes, he gasped upon the sight of the fireflies dancing by his face. Glancing around, the boy found himself in a field of glowing yellow flowers with beautiful tall trees bearing various fruits he has never seen before. To his far left, there was a river reflecting the silver glow of the moon._

_"Where am I?" The greenette gasped in awe. He looked down at one of the glowing white flower with curious eyes, never having seen anything like it before. _

**_"You are in where no human is allowed."_**_ A deep voice suddenly spoke, startling the boy who turned around and gasped._

_Standing behind him was the largest animal he had ever seen. It resembled a monstrous gorilla with long white fur sticking from its back. Its skin was in a light blue tone with muscular chest and crimson fists that looked as though they could smash boulders into tiny bits. It stared down at the human child with golden, pupil-less eyes that seemed to glow like the surrounding flowers._

_For a moment, the greenette looked as though he was going to cry at the sight of the beast, instead, his eyes lit up as he quickly took out a small scroll. The boy looked down at the poor drawing, then back up only to brighten up even more._

_To say the gorilla was surprised was an understatement. The beast had seen many reactions from beings that saw its form, but never such pure smile of joy like the one the child was wearing._

_"Are you Mountain Deity-sama?" The gorilla didn't reply. It simply stared down at the boy. "If you are, can you please help my father?" _

**_"Are you not afraid of me, boy?" _**_The beast asked after another a moment of silence. The boy blinked in confusion._

_"Why?" The child tilted his head to the side in such innocent way that it could be considered a cute act. "Mountain Deity-sama is good, right?"_

**_"And how would you know if I'm a deity?" _**_The gorilla questioned before it suddenly snarled, revealing its giant fangs that could easily tear the boy's body apart. The beast was obviously trying to intimidate the child, but once again to the creature's surprise, the boy just smiled even wider. _

_There wasn't a hint of fear expressed in those minty green eyes._

_"Because you brought me here right?" The child asked. "You saved me from the cold and you look kind, so you're a good person."_

_The beast stilled as it took in those words. Although it was a childish reason, there was a hidden wisdom behind those words. The boy was definitely well educated seeing how he had a wide range of vocabulary for his age. There was a pureness inside him like none other the beast had seen in those foolish humans before. _

**_"You don't call a gorilla _****person_, boy." _**_The beast commented flatly._

_"R-really?" The child asked, seeming to beginning to panic for the first time the beast saw him. The boy quickly ducked his head and began mumbling a string of apologies to the beast. "I'm sorry! I-I guess calling Deity-sama a person is rude since Deity-sama isn't a person…"_

_"That's not my point." A clear, crisp voice unlike the huskily deep one the child was getting used to respond. The greenette snapped his head up and was surprised to find a tall, white haired teen standing before him. He wore strange clothes the child had never seen before and was looking down at him with sharp, lavender eyes._

_The child blinked at the stranger. He slowly looked around for the large beast that seemed to have vanished into thin air. The white haired teen stood there with a hand on his hip as he watched the child's face began scrunching up and then…the boy began to wail. _

_Whatever reaction the teen was expecting, it was definitely not this._

_"You didn't cry when you saw a ten feet tall beast yet you cry seeing me?" He asked the young boy in disbelief, but at the same time, he also felt intruded. _

_The small kid just kept crying and choking out calls for the deity to come back over and over. With a sigh, the teenager strolled over to the child and swiftly scooped the petite boy into his arms. _

_"Stop crying already." He said, but was once again ignored. The teen sat down onto the soft grass and waited until the child tired himself out. Just as he has predicted, the boy's crying soon eased. It was either he had run out of tears or his jaw was too sore to let out any more sobs._

_"Finished now?" The teen looked down at the greenette curled in his arms. With a sniff and some wiping at his chubby cheeks, the boy slowly nodded. "Then tell me, why are you looking for the Mountain Deity?"_

_"M-my father is sick…everyone says that he'll die…I don't want him to die…" The boy hiccupped. When the white haired teen saw tears threatening to leak again, he plucked out a nearby flower and dangled it before the child's face. Tiny golden dust rained down from the flower and landed over the black fabric of the teen's yellow dust illuminated brightly as though it was calling out for the young boy's attention. The greenette was immediately distracted as he reached out a hand and watched in awe as the glowing powder coated his fair skin. _

_"What is this?" He asked, blinking to the older teen in curiosity._

_"Pollens." The older boy replied simply and handed the flower for the child to analyze. After hearing that short explanation, he knew what the child had came seeking the deity for. The only question now was whether the so-called deity would honour it._

_"So…has big brother seen Mountain Deity-sama?" The child asked, drawing the teen from his thoughts. "Do you know where I can find him?"_

_The teen hummed, debating what he should do. "If I tell you that you're looking at him, are you going to believe me?"_

_"No." The greenette responded without sparing a second of thought and continued to stare at him with unblinking eyes. _

_"Oh?" The teen arched an elegant, white eyebrow. A flash of light flickered through his eyes as he stared down at the child. "And why is that?"_

_"Because big brother doesn't look like Mountain Deity-sama." The child explained before he held up his drawing. "Mountain Deity-sama looks like this!"_

_The teen took the scroll and stared down at the poor doddles of a small white monkey. He immediately choked back the urge to laugh as his gaze drifted to the boy, then back to the drawing._

_"Is that how he looks like?" He asked in a small chuckle that he was unable to hold back. When he was responded by an affirmative nod, a wide smile spread over his face. He stared down at the drawing that conveyed a comforting warmth, expressing the boy's passion when he drew it. _

_"Usami Fei. Is that your name?" He read the child's sloppy signature at the bottom and gained another positive nod. "And you say that your father is ill?" The child nodded once more, only much weaker this time with a deep frown tugging on his lips. "…Then the Mountain Deity will help him." He said as he set the child onto the flowers and stood up._

_"Really? He will?" The child asked hopefully. He beamed when the teen nodded and took a few, wide steps back._

_"However," a bluish-black mist suddenly came out of nowhere behind the older boy's back and wrapped around his body. Fei jumped back with a startled yelp when the darkness suddenly expanded and tower over him. When it burst apart only a short second after, the small child gapped as he found himself staring at the giant beast from before._

_"B-big brother?" He gapped, not expecting the human looking person to suddenly transform, and into the Mountain Deity no less._

**_"In return, you will become my bride on your sixteenth year, under the night of the first sakura blossom."_**

_"Bride?" The boy instantly knew what was being asked out of him. He had read many fairy tales and knew the meaning of that word. "But…is that alright?"_

**_"What is?"_**_ The tall gorilla asked. _

_"Can Mountain Deity-sama marry human? In the stories, princes and princesses can't marry peasant because they're different…different…" The child frowned as he took a while before he finally remembered the word. "Status!"_

**_"…Status."_**_ The beast stared, seeming to be lost in words._

_"Yeah! Deity-samas are like kings right? If a Deity-sama marries a human then Deity-sama will be punished by other Deity-sama!" The child exclaimed with frantic waves of his hands. _

_The gorilla trailed his eyes over the child before he leaned down until his large face was only inches away from the human. _

**_"You're worried of my wellbeing?"_**

_"Of course!" The greenette smiled brightly. "I like Mountain Deity-sama! I don't want Mountain Deity-sama to be punished." _

**_"Pfft…" _**_The gorilla choked out before he suddenly howled in a booming laughter that literally shook the earth. The birds around the area screeched as they flew into the sky, alarmed by their ruler's sudden outburst. As the ground shook, the golden pollens within the flowers were released into the air, replacing the lights of the fireflies that had all hid in fright._

_The greenette watched as the giant gorilla turned into black mist and vanished, taking the form of the white haired teenager once more. Never stopping in his laughter, the teen dropped into the flowers. He was laughing so hard that a tear had escaped the corner of his eyes. The child crept up to him, watching in curiosity as the teen slowly calmed down. _

_"Big– I mean, Mountain Deity-sama?" The said deity opened his eyes to find the small child hovering over him and looking a bit worried._

_"You're really interesting." The teen mumbled as he reached up and stroked the baby soft cheek. "Become my bride and stay by my side, Fei. If you do that, I will prolong your father's life."_

_"But Mountain Deity-sama will–!"_

_"Nothing will happen to me." He cut the boy off with a smile. "I'm the Mountain Deity after all."_

_"Really?" Fei asked hopefully._

_"Really."_

_"Then I'll become Mountain Deity-sama's bride!" The child laughed, all his previous worries gone as he threw himself onto the teen. The Mountain Deity grinned at the reply as he embraced the child, pulling the smaller body close against his. _

_"Then let's seal the contract." He said before he leaned in and captured those untouched lips in a light kiss. Being only an innocent child that didn't know the significance of such kiss, Fei thought the action was equivalent to the goodnight kisses his father usually gave him. So smiling at that, the child pushed his head forward to give the deity a goodnight kiss_ _back. Needless to say, the teen was surprised but he knew that the child most likely misunderstood the meaning behind their actions. _

_"Meia." He called once he pulled away from the child. A girl with purple hair appeared in that instance, standing before the two in a straight posture. _

_"Bring Fei some water from the spring."_

_"The spring?" The girl seemed a bit unsure as she looked over the kid. However, not daring to question his reason, she vanished, leaving just as fast as she had appeared._

_"She disappeared!" Fei gapped in awe at the sight._

_"It's call teleportation." The white haired boy explained._

_"Tell-a-potion?" The small child repeated with much difficulty on the complicated word._

_"Teleportation. It's an ability of ours to move from one location to another at a high speed."_

_"Then that big sister just now is another Deity-sama?" The greenette asked in excitement, but was disappointed when the deity shook his head negatively. Just as he was about to ask more, the girl returned with a bamboo container in her hand. She handed it to the white haired teen respectively before stepping back._

_"Fei, listen to me closely." The teen shifted the small child around in his arms so that the boy could get a clearer view of the item in his hand. _

_"This contains the sacred water that can heal any kind of illness. It doesn't matter whether your father finishes everything inside or not. As long as he takes a sip, it will be enough to cure him. After he does so, I want you to burn this together with the spring water inside."_

_"Burn? Why?" Fei couldn't help but ask._

_"Because this can't fall into human's hands." The teen explained slowly. He needs to make sure the child understand every word he says. "The healing power is extremely strong. Even with the leftover container, simply filling it up with normal water will grant it the same power to heal. There is no telling what it could be used for if it falls into the wrong hands. The spring water is weak against fire. It will evaporate the instant it comes in contact with heat which is why you must burn it."_

_"Ok." The small boy carefully took the container into his small hands. The smile was gone from his face, showing that he understood the seriousness behind it. "I understand."_

_"Good. Now, it's time you leave this place." At the mention of leaving, Fei quickly looked up to the older teen with sadness glazed over his eyes._

_"I have to leave now?" _

_"Aren't you in a hurry to save your father?" The teen questioned and the green haired boy slowly nodded at that. _

_"Then…can I come back and play with Deity-sama?"_

_"I'm afraid that won't be possible." The white haired boy replied. "The only reason you're here now is because I made a one-time exception to the rule of Feida."_

_"Fei…da...?"_

_"It's the name of the world you see right now. It's where my kinds live, hidden by a barrier impossible for humans to find. The air within here is pure with natural healing capabilities." He explained as he gently touched the child's foot that was once filled with frostbite. "Everything that grows and lives here can create what human called _miracles_. It's a blessed place that can be fed to a certain type of darkness that only exists within a human's heart, which is why your specie is not to enter under any circumstances."_

_"But–" The child tried to protest, but was stopped when the teen pressed a finger to his small lips._

_"That is why I must erase your memory." The deity said as he gently caressed the soft green locks. "Everything you see tonight must remain here."_

_"Erase my memory?" The child gasped. "T-then I won't remember Mountain Deity-sama?" Tears came to his eyes when the white haired boy shook his head negatively._

_"The only thing you will remember is our deal and the instruction for this." The teen pointed at the container that the greenette was clutching onto tightly._

_"T-then…how will I–"_

_"I will come for you." The teen gently kissed the spot between the child's knitted eyebrow. "I will bring you back on the promised night, Fei. Only when you become one of us will I return your memories." The hand massaging the child's scalp then began to illuminate in bright green light, shrouding the child's vision before everything became black._

oOo

Fei slowly woke from the string of long, forgotten memories. He moaned softly at the uncomfortable light beaming at him through his closed eyelids. He buried his face into the warm softness beneath him, only to stop when he heard the faint drumming sound of heartbeat.

"…Huh?" He mumbled tiredly as his eyes slowly parted. Fei blinked once, then twice before he realized how he was staring right into a pair of loving lavender eyes.

"Morning." The white haired boy greeted as he leaned forward and kissed Fei between the eyebrows, a spot where the greenette now realized the other liked to kiss at.

"Saru…" Fei whispered as he took in the boy who was properly dressed in the foreign clothes he had first seen him in. His eyes drifted down and noticed the old scroll Saryuu had been admiring. The teen immediately recognized it was his drawing – the one he had brought with him when he first met Saryuu.

"This is–!" He gasped, waking from his drowsiness as he stared at the nostalgic drawing. "I thought I lost it…You had it all along?"

Saryuu didn't reply. Instead, he only flashed Fei a smile before he carefully rolled up the scroll. With his power, he levitated his love's artwork and placed it onto a shelf on the other side of the large room.

"You remember now?" He asked, cupping the greenette's chin and brought his face up so he could place a kiss on those tender lips. The kiss was kept light, lasting only for some short seconds before they both broke apart from each other.

Fei slowly answered with a nod before looking up to meet Saryuu's eyes. "When you said you fell in love with me when we first met…did you mean all the way back then?"

"Yes." The deity wasn't ashamed to admit as he played with the green locks. "At first, I merely saved you out of curiosity as to why a child like you was looking so desperately for me in the middle of winter. But after spending the little time with you, I felt a pull towards that I had never felt before. You were different than any humans I've met. For starters, you were the first one that laughed seeing my other form and cry in this one. Humans usually have it the other way around."

Fei's face flushed in embarrassment as he was reminded of how he had behaved when he was nothing but a naïve little kid. "T-that was because I didn't know who you were. So," he hurriedly changed the topic, "which is your real form?"

"Both are." Saryuu replied. "The Second Stage Children are naturally born with two forms. That's why when receiving my gene, animals gain a human form and humans gain an animal one – though you're the only human I've ever turned."

"What?" Fei quickly sat up but momentarily froze when the bed shook again. He looked down before he mentally told himself that it would not collapse. "So you mean that I can turn into a fox like Shi– I mean…" He paused a bit to try and recall his long-time companion's real name. "Yuuchi?"

"Something like that." Saryuu chuckled. He wasn't going to tell Fei what he had turned into during the night. It would be more fun to let him figure out that surprise himself. "I will teach you about your changes later. For now, it's time to get up, Fei _Lune_."

Fei stared at Saryuu in confusion at the foreign word attached to his name.

"When you're reborn into a Second Stage Children, you must be given a new name that will identity you as such." Saryuu explained. "In our language, _Lune _means moon. That will be your family name from now on, but with the humans, you will always be Usami."

"Moon." Fei smiled fondly at the meaning. "Then does _Evan_ have a special meaning too?"

"No." Saryuu chuckled as he climbed off the bed. "Our naming system is quite different than what you're accustomed to. Our names don't have to be actual words; therefore there doesn't need to be any specific meaning behind them."

Fei nodded as he proceeded to get out of the bed as well, only to stop when he caught sight of the clothes he wore for the first time. It was the same strange clothing Saryuu was wearing, only a bit different. It consisted of only black and white with an orange haori* of some kind.

As Fei admired the strange clothes, a sudden realization dawn him.

"S-Saru? Who d-dressed me?" Fei stammered. He watched as Saryuu _pulled_ open the door, making the wood swing open rather than sliding. However, Fei couldn't find himself to be surprised anymore by the unusual sights. The only thing he wanted right now was answers.

When Saryuu didn't say anything but threw back a wide smirk, Fei's face burst into dozens shades of crimson.

"Wait, Saru!" Fei shouted as he leaped off the bed, shivering when his feet touched the cold ground. He looked down and found a very bizarre pair of black sandals beside him. He looked around, not seeing the geta* he was wearing yesterday. Knowing he couldn't go bare feet, he slipped his foot into the strange material and was surprised by how comfortable it felt.

"This is no time to be admiring." He mumbled to himself and hurried after the white haired boy who had left. When he came into a grand hall, he found the deity at the very end and wondered exactly how he had gotten there in such short time. Heaving out a sigh, Fei ran down the long hallway when another thought struck him. His body didn't hurt at all…there wasn't even the slightest bit of soreness from the intense activity last night.

"It's one of our Second Stage Children's ability." Saryuu said and Fei jumped when he found Saryuu suddenly standing behind him.

"Saru?" He looked at the empty spot Saryuu was standing just a second ago before back to the boy, wondering how he had gotten there so quickly. "How did you–?"

"Teleportation." Saryuu spoke the familiar word and the greenette instantly understood through his regained memory.

"Our bodies heal much faster than human." The deity explained as he wrapped an arm around the greenette's waist and led him down the hall, towards the pair of tall doors at the end. "That's why you're not feeling any pain. Your body has already recovered overnight."

"Then can you read minds as well?" Fei asked, wondering how was it that Saryuu knew what he was thinking.

"No." Saryuu chuckled and tightened his hold on his wife. "You just wear your thoughts on your sleeve."

As the two arrived at the end, the doors automatically began to open. When it parted all the way, miniature sounds of explosions rang through the air, startling the greenette as colourful ribbons showered down on him.

"Welcome to Ragnarok, Fei!" Those words were screamed out in sync by all the Second Stage Children he had met yesterday. They were lined up at the doorway, every one of them wearing unique clothes and board smiles gracing their faces.

High above them, hanging from the tall ceiling, Fei smiled at the sight of his name written on the largest and longest scroll he has ever seen.

"Welcome to your new home, Fei." Saryuu said as he leaned down and pecked Fei's cheek.

Fei blushed at what Saryuu was doing in front of so many people but he couldn't help but smile just as wide. He took the hand offered to him. With a tug from his new lover, he was led inside, to the people who will all become a large part to his life.

* * *

Haori – Is a jacket worn over kimono. The collar is meant to hang straight down along your chest.

Geta – A form of traditional Japanese footwear that resemble both clogs and flip-flops.

* * *

That's all for Promised Night! Thank you all for your support and MizuKi-chan-18 who offered to help beta this chapter! Although the story is short, it was fun writing it and even more enjoyable reading everyone's wonderful reviews!

While this story has ended, a new one is just beginning. I'm far from finished with Saru and Fei. The two are simply too cute for me to stop.

Originally, the little preview below is just a sneak peek into my next development. However, I am pleased to announce that Broken Fang is already out! It can be found in my profile, rated M due to the war theme, blood and, well, something else. I hope everyone enjoy!

_Broken Fangs_

Summary: Long ago, the emperor of the vampire race was overthrown through the combined power of the opposing vampire clans and the human army. Twelve years had passed since then and the emperor has woken from his long slumber. Another war is quickly approaching and a green haired human boy is caught right in the middle of it. How exactly is he involved and what do both humans and vampires want from him?

_Sneak peek into Chapter 1 - Broken Song_

A loud rumble came from the green haired teen, causing him to look down in embarrassment as some passing girls in high school uniforms giggled at him. He tugged up his blue scarf a little and shivered at the cool air.

"I can't believe I forgot to stock up on food." The boy groaned as his stomach growled again, almost as though it was agreeing with him. He sighed and leaned his umbrella towards the direction of where the wind was blowing to block the incoming rain. Upon seeing light from the corner of his eyes, Fei turned and realized that he was walking by the window to McDonald. He peered through the glass, looking inside to see young children eating and smiling happily with their parents.

"Mommy, Daddy, hurry up!" Fei turned to see a small boy jumping up and down at the doorway to the fast food restaurant. He was shaking his umbrella in excitement as his parents made their way to him.

"Slow down, honey." The woman said sweetly, but the second the man opened the door, the boy had dashed inside. The pale teen watched as the couple exchanged loving smiles before they walked in after their son.

"Parents and friends…" The greenette mumbled quietly as he recalled the group of girls he had passed by. He turned to continue his path before he was distracted. However, not seeing where he was going, he ended up colliding against something. If not for a hand that had reached out to grab him, he would have surely joined his umbrella in the puddle.

"I'm sorry." He quickly apologized when he realized that he had bumped into a person. "I wasn't watching where I was…" his voice got lost in his throat when he saw that the one he had walked into was another teenager.

The person had snow white hair and was wearing a pair of black goggles over his eyes despite how it was a grayish day without much sunlight. He couldn't help but shivered when he saw his own image being reflected in those lenses. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt very conscious and that made him extremely nervous.

It was only when he saw the stranger's lips moving did he realize that the other was speaking. "I-I'm sorry, what did you say?" He asked lamely and immediately felt very stupid for doing so. If the person didn't know he was staring, the green haired teen was sure that he did now.

"I said," the white haired boy smiled kindly, not seeming the least bothered by needing to repeat his words, "that if you don't pick up your umbrella soon, you'll be soaked."

The green haired teen stilled. He blinked up at the other once, then twice before he realized that his umbrella was missing. He looked up, finding himself under shelter of the other boy's black parasol and what's more, he was pressed close against the stranger's chest by the arm around his waist that had prevented him from falling.

"S-sorry!" The greenette quickly pulled himself away from the warm hold. Flushed in embarrassment, he hastily bent down to pick up his umbrella, not seeing the small amount of water that had gathered inside. Just when the white haired teen was about to call out to stop him, he held the umbrella upright. The rain water showered down, causing the pale skinned boy to jump as he felt cold droplets running down his scalp.

"That's why I told you that you'll be soaked." The goggle wearing boy chuckled.

"I-I'm…" By now, the green haired teen's embarrassment had raised to the point where he wanted to hide in a hole and never surface again. Not thinking straight, he blurted out another apology in attempt to cover his awkwardness. When his brain registered what he just said, he felt the desperate urge to look for that hole.

He wondered why he kept apologizing. For some odd reason, he couldn't seem to calm down at all. He was panicking and was completely being overwhelmed by his nervousness. There was something about this boy that agitated him in a way he had never felt before.

"Is _'sorry'_the only word you can say?" The teen was now laughing out in amusement.

By reflex, the green haired boy had nearly apologized again, but he caught himself in time and shut his mouth. His mint green eyes drifted around to show his unease. Then finally unable to take it anymore, he ran. He faintly thought he had heard the call of his name, but he didn't care. Right now, the only thing he wanted was to get away, not wanting to embarrass himself any further than he already had.

The white haired teen stood in the same spot he had always been as he watched the boy who had walked into him vanished into the crowds.

"Ah-ah~" A loud sigh echoed through the air.

The teen didn't show any reactions as a boy with chocolate tan skin and pink hair walked out of the alley behind him. His hands were shoved into his pockets, seeming not care at all of the cold droplets soaking his being.

"You scared him away." The pink haired boy laughed with a light growl rumbling from his throat.

"Garsha, why are you here?" The white haired teen asked, though it sounded more like a demand. Any trace of the warmness his voice had previously displayed vanished.

"Looking for you of course." Garsha snorted as he pulled both of his hands behind his head. "Your entire coven is freakin' out looking for you when they discovered how you had vanished. With the location of your exit, none of them can come out without risking exposure to the sunlight, so they asked me."

The tan boy let his Carolina blue eyes drift over to the building that the greenette had vanished behind. "So that was the brat? He doesn't seem to like you much, does he?"

"It's only natural." The white haired boy responded as he gently pulled the dark goggles over his soft white hair. His eyes parted, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes in three shades of colours. The pupils were clear white and his irises were in the dim colour of imperial purple with thick, black rings at the border of the irises.

"After all," those eyes narrowed towards the roof of the hotel on the other side of the street, "I'm only a stranger to him now."

oOo

"What?" The man with long gray hair and crimson eyes stared into the screen displaying a face of a bearded soldier.

"Impossible!" The man with greasy blond hair sitting on the opposite side of the circular table exclaimed. "He was dead! There was no way he could survive!"

_"B-but it's true, sir! I saw him with my own eyes!"_ The bearded man on the screen exclaimed before he slapped a hand over his mouth when he realized the volume he had spoken in. He turned to the left, seeming to be checking something off-screen before letting out a slow sigh of relieve.

"Show us." The crimson eyed man ordered.

With a quick nod from the bearded man, the screen shifted around to display image of the two figures in the distance. The camera zoomed in until the image of the pink haired teen was clearly captured, but the other wasn't visible at all due to the umbrella blocking the camera's line of sight.

"That boy!" The rather chubby man with white hair and glasses shouted. "Chairman! That's Garsha Wolfein, the leader of the Tsukigami Clan!"

"The current dominating werewolf clan of Japan?" A brown haired man with sharp facial features yelled as whispers began to travel through the room.

"Zoom in on the other one." The chairman ordered. The screen shifted to the right to display where the umbrella carrying person is—or at least, where he _should _have been.

"Where did he go?" One of the men asked, but he soon received his response when a blood curling cry echoed through the speaker. A second later, crimson fluid sprayed across the screen. Some of the men turned green, knowing exactly what those crimson fluids were.

They stared in silent, their hearts pounding heavily as the screen began to shift.

What they saw nearly sent all of the elderly men into heart attacks. There, displayed on the screen was a white haired youth that they were all too familiar with. He was grinning at them with his eyes glowing eerily. Something no human should be capable of doing.

_"Hello, oji-san tachi*."_ The boy greeted in a light and casual tone. _"It's been only twelve years and I must say, I could hardly recognize you all. Humans age so quickly, don't you agree?"_

"Saryuu Evan!" The man with spectacles wheezed. He looked to be on a dangerous line of hyperventilating.

"Impossi—you **died**." The blond stressed the word, as though by doing so it would become reality.

_"That's what you hope isn't it, oji-san?" _Saryuu smiled brightly. _"But unfortunately for you, I'm very much alive."_

"What are you planning, Saryuu?" The chairman demanded. "After that battle twelve years ago, Feida vanished from the trace of Japan."

_"Feida didn't vanish."_ The teen hummed. _"We have always been here, you're simply not looking hard enough. That stunts you, El Dorado, had pulled merely put me to sleep for a fair amount of time. I have just woken about half a month ago, and guess what I found?"_ He sang before his smile morphed into a scowl that sent most of them stumbling back in fear. _"I found that you humans stole something important of mine."_

"And I take it that the 'something' you're referring to is Fei Lune?" The chairman narrowed his eyes to match the other's glare. "What do you want with that child?"

_"That should be my line."_Saryuu hissed darkly. _"What purpose do you have kidnapping him?"_

"You're the kidnappers here!" The blond man interrupted, only to be silenced by an even more sinister look from the teenager in the screen.

"Fei Lune is the child of Asurei Lune." The chairman said, not affected by the dark look the teen was wearing. "We are simply bringing him back to where he belongs, and protecting him from–"

_"Protect?"_ The youth laughed as though the leader of the group of aging men had made a joke, _"So your definition of protect was to throw him into a planned out life filled with heavy surveillance and solitude? Asurei Lune must be rolling in his grave."_

"How dare you!" The blond tried to argue again, but stopped, this time by the chairman who held up his hand.

"Fei is just a child and a human no less." The chairman's calculating red eyes never left the screen. "What exactly do you want from him, Saryuu?"

_"I don't need to explain myself to you inferior humans. Fei **will **return to me."_

"You won't get Fei."

_"Who's going to stop me, oji-san tachi?" _Saryuu laughed before the screen became black.

* * *

Oji-san tachi – _Oji-san_ means middle age men and _tachi _represents plural. I don't know how to write this phrase in English so I just kept it to the Japanese. I know in the anime it was translated into "mister", but it felt a bit weird on using it in the sentences.


End file.
